


Wings of Change

by DragonForce



Series: Culmination [2]
Category: Disney Fairies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23893153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonForce/pseuds/DragonForce
Summary: "You're not like other fairies, Phineas. You have a greater purpose, a greater destiny. But you cannot tell anyone about this. It's too dangerous. Promise me you won't say anything to anyone? Not even your friends? Especially not to your friends.""I promise, Queen Clarion.""Oh, and Phineas?""Aye, Your Majesty?""Don't ever read my mind again."An origin story for Phineas "Bobble" T. Kettletree Esquire.Based in the same AU as "The War of Talents". Hope you enjoy! :D
Relationships: Clarion/Milori (Disney Fairies), Terence/Tinker Bell (Disney Fairies)
Series: Culmination [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717189
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. A Harvest Moon Lingers, A New Fairy is Born

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel to "War of Talents", so it might be useful to go and read that book first. Or you can go in chronological order and start here. Totally up to you :D

The air over England was unusually still. It was late and everyone, albeit a select few, was at home, asleep. A few lingering birds glided through the night sky, taking note of the glittering array of stars shimmering overhead. It seemed to be a perfectly ordinary night. But it was far from ordinary. And, as a gentle laugh drifted over the wind, it was clear that something was different, and something phenomenal was about to occur.

The wind rustled a cluster of small oaks and the whisper in the air grew. A single speck of gold spun through the air, caught up in the breeze and tossed into the clouds. There it lingered for a short time before continuing its journey toward the heavens and on through the night.

The sun was just beginning to rise when the laugh drifted into Neverland. It glowed a kind of silver, a reflection of the moon's light, and it caught the attention of one particular fast-flying-talent who just happened to be out dusting the fields at the time.

She cautiously summoned a wind to push the laugh and keep it aloft and guided it toward the center of the fairy kingdom, the Pixie dust Tree, where a large crowd of fairies and sparrowmen had begun to gather.

Loud exclamations trickled to soft whispers as the fast-flying fairy gently set the laugh down and retreated as Terence, the newest of the dust-talents, stepped forward, gripping a sack of Pixie dust tightly.

Everyone held their breaths as Terence poured the sack and stepped back to watch the transformation. A bright glow flooded the hollow, and the form of a sparrowman appeared. He was average height, his hair was auburn like wildfire, and he was skinny with gangly arms and legs. He kept his head down, however, instead of glancing up to greet his fellow fairies, almost as if he were afraid.

"He's so small," came a voice from somewhere amongst the fairies and a breeze of agreements floated through the hollow.

"Look at his wings! _Look!_ He'll be a fast-flyer for sure!"

"He seems shy. The poor dear. All this must be extremely overwhelming for him."

The whispers grew louder until they clashed like thunder. The fairy curled in further on himself, shaking slightly.

Suddenly, a brilliant yellow glow filled the sky, and out of nowhere, a sparkling yellow orb descended to the tree. Several younger fairies yelped and hastily darted out of the way as the ball met the earth and transformed into a beautiful pixie, dressed from head to toe in gold, and sporting a glittering crown upon her head.

" _Q_ _ueen Clarion_ ," whispered many of the onlookers.

He felt a touch on his shoulder, accompanied by a swarm of bright lights, colors, and emotions. Love. Joy. Peace. Fear. Love. Duty. Power. _Love._ It was almost too much, and he felt the urge to remain curled up in his ball forever where no one could see him, and better yet, he couldn't see them.

"Dear one," came a gentle voice above her. "It's quite all right. You're safe. We're all friends here."

The owner of the voice spoke the truth. He could feel it radiating off of the crowd, roaring louder than even the whispers. They flooded his head like raindrops on a leaf, and he struggled to hold on to them.

_I wonder what talent he'll be._

_Why is he so nervous? I wasn't that nervous on my arrival day, was I?_

_Oh_! _He seems so shy. I wanna fly up there and give him a great big hug! I hope he'll be a_ _water_ _fairy!_

That last thought was different, and stood out. Instead of pity or confusion, he felt excitement and caring gushing like an overflowing stream. He glanced up abruptly, scanning the onlookers for the source. _There!_ He spotted her, a slim blue and black blob sitting on what he guessed was a large red...mushy blob?

_Silvermist_ , He gathered from her brain. _Sh_ _e seems nice_ _,_ he decided.

In fact, as he expanded his mind, he realized that many of the fairies were nice. They were friendly, open, warm, and caring. None gave any sign of hostility and anger, and none looked like they were a threat.

But just what was a threat? And why did he feel like there was one, even if he couldn't feel it? Surely it was all in his imagination, right?

"Hello, there," the Queen said with a small laugh.

He turned to face the glow with a tiny frown which he instantly tried to morph into a half-convincing smirk. "H-hello," he tried, surprised to hear the words form so easily on his tongue. He detected an accent of some kind, but he didn't know what it was, or why he sounded different from her, so he decided to continue. "W-where am I?"

"Why, you're in Pixie Hollow," the Queen replied. "Home of the Neverfairies. Love has brought you here to us, young one."

"Oh," he frowned, not understanding. He picked a saying out of the woman's mind, guessing it was the typical ritual for a new arrival. _Born of happiness, clothed in cheer, love has brought you here. Welcome to Pixie Hollow._

Clarion chuckled. "Here, let me help you." She extended her hand graciously. The fairy took it and shakily stood up, squeezing the queen's hand tightly. She didn't appear to be bothered by it, and only smiled. "Good," she went on. "And now let's see about those wings." She gestured to a fairy who had been hovering off to the side. He beamed and glided up.

"Hello," he said kindly. "I'm Terence."

He already knew that. He'd pulled it from his head, but he didn't know how to explain that, so he simply squinted and nodded at the blurry blob standing before him. "Hello, I'm--" he stopped and frowned, realizing for the first time that he didn't know his name.

Terence didn't seem bothered by this hesitation at all as he quickly slipped behind him and poured the contents of the bag onto his wings. A speck of dust landed on the new sparrowman's nose and he sneezed, gaining several chuckles from the onlookers. "What _was_ that?"

"It's Pixie dust," Terence explained. "It's what allows a fairy to fly. Try it."

He hesitated. He didn't know how to fly. Was he supposed to ask? Did most fairies already know how to fly? "Um...I...don't...I don't..." He gestured to his wings helplessly.

Queen Clarion smiled knowingly. "That's quite all right. Here." She held out her hand once more and he shyly took it. "Spread your wings. There you are. Well done. Now, think happy thoughts."

Happy thoughts? What were happy thoughts? To a fairy who had only been existing for a few moments, he didn't know. But the gold, the gold from the queen's dress, though he couldn't see it, _that_ made his heart lift. And the feelings of warmth and acceptance from the watching fairies, and the possibility of a hug from Silvermist. Were those happy thoughts?

They must have been, because, before he realized it, his feet had left the ground and he was hovering next to the queen. Fairies clapped and cheered as he slowly glided back to the tree, landing a bit unsteadily.

"A little timid, but you'll be just fine," the queen said gently, smiling.

There was a rumbling noise, and, suddenly, dark objects rose from the ground before him, and he jumped back nervously, unable to see them. Several glows of Pixie dust surrounded him as fairies darted to his left and right. "What...what is happenin'?" he asked.

"These are a fairy's talents," Clarion explained. "Every Neverfairy has one. Step forward and find yours."

He did as he was told, and reached cautiously for the first item. He stopped, right before he touched it. "But, how will I--"

"You'll know," she answered automatically, as though that was a question she was asked a lot. "Trust me."

He nodded, blinking in the attempt to clear his vision (which did absolutely nothing whatsoever), and reached for the first item.

_Fast-flying_ _talent_ , came from the quiet stirrings of a small group of eager fairies, along with a _humph_ from a fifth pixie, and he found his mind quickly latching on to hers.

_H_ _e's no fast-flyer! Just_ look _at him. Awkward, clumsy, bet he can't even_ _comprehend_ _what is happening right_ _now_ _. His wings are shaking so hard. He looks so afraid._ _I_ _t's_ _a wonder he could fly_ at all.

Vidia was her name, and he immediately vowed never to cross paths with her, because she would throw him under the wagon in seconds without hesitation.

So, imagine his surprise when his fingers brushed against the gold tornado and it immediately broke apart and exploded into fireworks around him. He cringed back anxiously as the lights burst before his eyes, and then looked toward the Queen's glow for an explanation.

"Well, it seems we have a new fast-flyer among us," the queen said gently. "Fairies of your guild, come forward and meet your newest member--"

Whatever she was saying came to an abrupt halt as several gasps echoed through the tree. At first, he was confused. Wasn't he a fast-flyer? What was going on? Had he done something wrong? He spun to see what everyone was so shocked about, and he realized that the objects that had been resting on the mushrooms had all risen into the air and were shining brightly.

_The talents,_ someone thought loudly. _The talents are_ all _glowing._

_What is happening?_ another asked.

_How can a fairy have_ all _the talents?_

That was that. He must have done something wrong. That was the only explanation. He cringed back as the voices grew from a whisper to a thunderous roar, and he wanted nothing more than to run and hide. Could he fly? Yes, he'd already proven he could. How far? He didn't know, but, even as he began to look around for a possible escape route, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he jumped, twisting to find the queen at his side. He frowned, wishing he could read her expression. Was she angry? Surprised? 

_Or_ , came a little voice from the back of his mind, _did she already know?_

He tried to pick up thoughts from her head, but the only thing he could hear was a faint buzzing. 

Her glow moved away from him quickly, and he just kept himself from running after her, the only thing he could see.

"What is happening?" someone cried from the audience. "Why isn't the talent ceremony working?"

The queen held up a hand to halt the storm of questions. Immediately, the tree fell so still, that a lonely cricket could be heard chirping nearby.

"Thank you," Clarion said gently. "Do not be alarmed everyone. Everything is perfectly all right. This _has_ happened before, and we _will_ get it all sorted out. But for now, I am going to ask you all to return to your homes, and await further instructions."

The fairies slowly began to obey, filing out of the tree quietly. Some shot the sparrowman nervous looks, while others ignored him entirely. It was not long before the tree was deserted, leaving only the fairy and the queen.

"Q-queen Clarion," he stammered. "It's my fault, isn't it? I messed somethin' up, didn't I?" He waited for her to agree, to tell him that it was his fault, and that there had been some kind of mistake, and that he shouldn't have been there at all, but to his surprise, she only shook her head and beckoned him over.

"Not at all, dear one," Clarion said kindly. "In fact, it's just the opposite. You, young sparrowman, have a _very_ rare talent. You have no one single talent. You are a _Protector._ You have them all, Phineas."

_Phineas._ He paused. Was that him? It sounded right, but yet, he never recalled telling her that.

Cautiously, he reached out once more, this time pulling a full name from her head.

_Phineas Timothy Kettletree Esquire._

Wow. Talk about a mouthful. A large name for such a small fairy. Yes, it was definitely his. He felt the tug of a smile as he thought about it, and the more times he tried to say it in his mind, the wider the grin grew.

"Protector?" he echoed. "What does that mean? What am I protectin'?"

"Everything," Clarion replied. "It is a Protector's job to watch over the Hollow and defend its inhabitants. Though there has not been a Protector born to us in three hundred years, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine."

If only that were true. He could sense the sparks of worry emitting from the Queen, and that prompted his next question. "But, everyone seemed so scared of me," he said quietly. "Why?" 

The queen sighed. "The world of Protectors has been kept secret for hundreds of years," she replied grimly. "Other fairies don't know about it, and that is the way it has been for centuries."

"But, why not?" he demanded. "It's not like I'm any different than them! Not really! At least...I don't _think_ I am..." he trailed off there, biting his tongue and staring at the ground when he realized he'd been arguing against the queen.

She could have him thrown out for saying such things before her.

"Oh, Phineas," Clarion sighed. "I can see how this might be confusing to you, but, trust me, it will all make sense when the time comes."

"And when will _that_ be?" he asked bitterly before he could catch himself.

"You'll know," was her only response. "But until then, you will need a cover. You certainly cannot go around with no talent whatsoever. Here. Take this." She handed something to him and he took it cautiously, grasping the firm handle of some kind of tool.

_A hammer_ , he realized, and he stared at the queen in confusion. _What am_ _I_ _supposed to do with_ this?

"Until it becomes clear why you have become a Protector, this will be your talent. You'll be a tinker. You'll live in the Nook with the other tinkers, and as far as they are concerned, what happened here today never did." _The most unnoticed of all the talents,_ her mind added. _No one would suspect a Protector to hide amongst the dirt and rubble._

Phineas frowned at her. Why was he hiding? He hadn't done anything wrong! If he was a Protector, he wanted to shout it from the mountaintops, not hide away in some dusty old...whatever the Nook was. He opened his mouth to protest, but the Queen was faster, placing a firm hand on his shoulders once more and steering him away, both from the talent pedestals, and whatever half-bit argument he had been about to make.

"Don't argue," she said. "Just listen to me. Fly south. Toward Spring. The pink trees," she added, when he squinted in confusion. "Tinkers Nook is there, between Spring and Summer. You'll know it when you see it."

_I_ can't _see it,_ he wanted to protest, but, once again, he got the feeling that she knew that.

"Once there, ask for Fairy Mary," Clarion went on. "She's the head of the tinker guild and she will get you settled. If you should find yourself in need of directions, just ask any fairy you meet. They can help you."

Phineas sighed, holding the hammer close. "All right," he said. "I understand. Go toward the pink trees, ask for Fairy Mary. Pretend to be a tinker."

"Correct," the queen nodded as the two of them walked to the edge of the tree and all of the Hollow was visible in the pale dawn's light. "And, _under no circumstances_ , do you reveal your true talent. This is not because the other fairies would fear you, so much as protection for yourself."

"Protection from what?"

"When it's time, you will know," Clarion repeated. "Now, hurry along," she added, shooing him toward the stairs. "Dawn is breaking, and if I know Mary, she'll want to put you to work right away."

Phineas slowly took a step away from her, and then another. Every movement was unsteady as the world disoriented itself around him, making it difficult to judge how far away everything was. He reached out to grab a limb to steady himself, only to find no limb.

_This is going to be a long_ _trip_.

"Oh, and Phineas?" The queen called after him. He paused, but did not turn around, afraid that he would fall.

"Good luck."

And then, in a puff of gold light, the queen was gone.


	2. Some Friendly Advice and a Not-So-Friendly Fairy

It took him all of five minutes to become utterly, entirely, and hopelessly lost.

_Fly toward the pink trees she said_ , he reminded himself over and over. _Tinkers Nook is between Spring and Summer. BUT, WHERE IN THE BLASTED TEAPOTS IS SUMMER?_

It was fifteen more minutes before he realized he had been flying in circles, and that he was once more hovering over the ring of green surrounding the Pixie dust tree. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair, trying for the fourth time to distinguish between the trees and the ground. Everyone came together in a blur, and he rubbed his eyes, hoping it would help. Nothing changed. Everything was fuzzy. He wondered if he should go back to the tree and see if the Queen would turn up again. He could certainly use her help now.

He was just considering landing and trying to work his way to the Nook on foot when a blur of light shot past his head, and a streak of orange crashed into him. The force of the impact was enough to knock the wind out of him, and send both fairies tumbling to the ground, rolling head over heels until they came to a sudden stop near a small steam.

" _Owww_ ," Phineas groaned, sitting up slowly, nursing a throbbing head. " _What._..?" He glanced around wildly. Hadn't there been another fairy there moments ago? What had happened to her? Quickly, he reached out, listening desperately for her mind, praying she hadn't fallen into the stream, for he was sure he wouldn't be able to pull her out. 

_Ow...should have known better...said I needed to look where I was going...guess they were right...eggs...make sure the eggs are alright!_

A frantic jumble of thoughts came from just to his left, and he wheeled around, gasping as the fairy raced past him without so much as a second glance and, instead, vaulted herself up onto something and began sifting around inside.

"Um...excuse me?" he called, walking cautiously up behind her. "Miss? Are you...lookin' for somethin'?" She may not have bothered to apologize, but the way her brain was running through all of a million scenarios at once, he could hardly blame her. Several items came rolling out of the object, and he just narrowly ducked under a number of small metal blurs. "Excuse me!" he said a little louder. "Miss?"

"Sorry! One minute!" came the muffled response. "I just gotta check on the...ah...alright, yes. Everything seems to be in one piece."

_Everything besides my dignity,_ Phineas thought glumly. He started to walk away, when the fairy seemed to realize that she'd forgotten him.

"Oh! _Hey_! Hold on!" 

There was a blur of color, and she zipped in front of him, cutting off his retreat. "Sorry about that," she said with a laugh. "I was so afraid one of the robin eggs had cracked that I completely forgot my manners. You're the new arrival, right? I'm Fawn." She stuck her hand out for him to shake, and, after a brief pause, he located it and shook it.

"Phineas."

"Nice to meet you. I'm sorry again for knocking you out of the air, and all that."

"It's all right," he answered. "So...what are ya?" He winced, realizing that his phrasing may have sounded rude. "I mean--" he quickly tried to correct himself.

"Nah, that's all right," Fawn giggled. "I know what you meant. And I'm an Animal Fairy. I take care of all the animals, make sure they're happy, healthy, and teach the baby bunnies things like hopping in a straight line. Things like that."

Phineas tilted his head. "What's a...bunny?"

Fawn blinked. "A...little rabbit? Oh, _right_ , you wouldn't have seen one yet. Well, come on, I'll show you!" She took his hand and started to pull him into the air after her.

"Oh, wait! Miss Fawn!" he yelped. "I'd love to come with ya, really, but Queen Clarion told me to report to Tinkers Nook as soon as possible."

She paused. " _Ohhhh_ , you're a _tinker!_ Well, rats, I thought I may have earned myself an apprentice." She grinned, and he smiled back shyly. She seemed friendly, both outwardly and inwardly, and he felt his uncomfortableness slowly beginning to fade. Maybe he was going to be okay after all. And she hadn't mentioned the utter disaster that had been his welcoming ceremony, so he took that as a bonus. "Well, if you're looking for the Nook, what are you doing all the way out here?"

" _Ah._ " He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, ya see, the truth is, I'm lost. The Nook was supposed to be between Spring and Summer, but, well, I don't know what Summer looks like. And I was just flyin' in circles. Then I crashed into ya."

Fawn laughed. "Actually, I think _I_ crashed into _you._ Here, tell you what. I've got to drop this basket of eggs off to some of the other animal talents. Tinkers Nook is on my way. Why don't I show you the way, and then I can give you a proper tour at the same time?" 

"I'd like that very much," he agreed.

"Well, all right!" Fawn picked up her basket and then took off in a streak of golden light. "This way!"

He hastily chased after her, catching up at a good height above the ground. He took a deep breath, and glanced toward her, trying to read her expression. Was she excited to have a new fairy to show around, or did she see him as an unnecessary burden? He wanted so badly to read her mind, but he was afraid of being sucked back into the vortex of jumbled thoughts. Cautiously, he opened his mind and let her brain in.

_Everything here is so beautiful. I have to remember this is his first time seeing the Hollow. I have to put on a good presentation. Pixie Hollow is the best place to live, by far! I wonder if the swallows have reached the mainland by now. Autumn is the best time of year! Everything is so colorful, and it's not too hot and not too cold, and everyone seems so--_

"Phineas? Hey, Phin? You all right?" 

He blinked, yanked out of her thoughts as she waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Aye. Sorry. What were ya sayin'?" 

"I was just trying to show you the seasons," Fawn said quietly. "But, you seemed like your mind was...elsewhere. Everything okay?" She cared. Like, really cared. It made his heart swell with pride, but he wasn't sure how she would take what he was going to tell her.

"I can't see very well," he admitted. He winced at the confession. Was that normal? Did fairies just have naturally poor eyesight? He guessed"no" by the way her mind starting flashing through a million different possibilities. It took everything he had just to keep himself from reacting to them.

"Okay," was all she said, giving him a reassuring smile as if she understood. "I'm sure that's something that can be fixed, right? You being a tinker, and all. After all, who ever heard of a tinker who couldn't see?" She laughed at this, and pulled him after her, but her words lingered.

_Who ever heard of a tinker who couldn't see?_

Was his secret already about to be blown? What would happen when they figured out that he wasn't what he seemed? If there hadn't been a tinker in history who couldn't see, how long would it take for fairies to notice him? Being noticed was absolutely the _last thing_ he wanted to happen. 

"Oh, don't look so put out," Fawn said, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "You'll be fine. Fairy Mary is strict, but she really cares. If you need help, I'm sure she won't hesitate to assist in any way she can. Now, first on our agenda is Spring. I guess you can figure out which trees are those?"

"The pink ones," Phineas grinned, remembering the queen's words. "The pink trees are Spring." _And they are by far the most beautiful_ _,_ he added to himself.

Fawn seemed to notice the wistfulness in his tone. "Oh, no, you don't."

He jumped anxiously. "What? Did I do somethin' wrong?"

She pointed a finger at him. "You can't like springtime," she said simply. 

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because that puts you at odds with me," she said with a chuckle. "My favorite season is autumn."

"Oh, Miss Fawn, I didn't mean to--" 

"I'm _joking,_ Phineas!" the animal fairy laughed. "Don't take everything so seriously!" She was smiling, and that made him feel just a little bit better. "First lesson for you, half the things you hear have to be taken with a grain of salt. We fairies love a good prank. And, as I suspect you will find out very quickly, newbies are the most fun to mess with."

" _Great_ ," he sighed. "Thanks for the warnin'." 

"No problem," Fawn replied. "Okay, so, over there's Summer. See all the green? That's how you can tell. The brown and orange leaves, that's Autumn. And all the white? That's Winter. We don't go there. Now, Tinkers Nook is right over here. Follow me." She took his hand and began leading him away from the center of the Hollow. In the distance, he could distinguish a faint glow of light near the ground, and he concluded that that must be the Nook.

"Is that--" he started to say, before a strong blast of wind sent both of them careening off course. He shrieked as he was thrown once more into the dirt, and Fawn landed on a flower nearby. Even as he pushed himself up and brushed the mud from his hair, the laugh of another fairy could be heard. 

_Vidia._

_So, she was unavoidable after all._

"Well, isn't this just _perfect_ ," came the call of the fast-flying talent as she appeared out of nowhere, crossing her arms and smirking down at him. "A lowly sparrowman in the mud and dirt. Bet it feels natural, doesn't it?"

He didn't answer as he picked himself up and brushed away the grime. He wouldn't let himself get angry. Not in front of her. He wouldn't let her get the best of him, _especially not_ when she hadn't the slightest idea what he _really_ was. For if she did, no doubt she would be singing a _very_ different tune.

Fawn growled loudly as she freed herself from the flower and glided down next to him. "Phin," she said through gritted teeth. "Meet Vidia, the _most_ _egotistical_ and _stuck-up_ fast-flyer in all of Pixie Hollow."

"Ah, so _that's_ your name!" the fairy laughed. "I was beginning to wonder, what with how utterly _disastrous_ your arrival turned out. I'm surprised the queen even _gave_ you a talent, as it was so clear that you don't have one."

_Stay calm. Don't react. Stay calm. She can't hurt me._

_But she_ can _turn me in and expose me to everyone._

He took a deep breath and stepped forward to introduce himself properly. "Phineas T-Timothy K-kettletree Es-Esquire," he stammered. "It's a pleasure to make your--"

Vidia cut him off with a scornful huff. "Pleasure. Right. Like I would _ever_ want to associate with someone so low as a fairy with _no talent_."

"Now, that's _enough_ , Vidia!" Fawn protested, putting her hands on her hips and glaring up at the fast-flyer. "Phin is a _tinker_ , and a _great_ one at that! So, take your skulking, irritable raincloud someplace else!"

Both Phineas and Vidia looked towards her in surprise, though for very different reasons.

_She thinks_ _I'm_ _a great tinker?_ Phineas marveled. _But..._ _I_ _haven't even_ done _anything yet!_ Of course, he supposed, Vidia didn't know that. Fawn was bluffing, and doing a fair job of it too.

Vidia scoffed. " _Please_ , darling. He's no tinker," she sneered. "And _Phineas_? That's a _human_ name! Trust me, Fawn," she added, while pointing at him. "He doesn't _look_ like a tinker, he doesn't _act_ like a tinker. I don't care what you are, or how bright your glow was, sparrowman, but sooner or later, you will make a bobble out of something. And I will be there to say I was right."

"Go _away,_ Vidia," Fawn growled, taking Phineas's hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Later," Vidia replied, waving and darting off, leaving the two fairies standing in the flowers in silence.

"Come on, Phin," Fawn said at last, shifting her basket to her other arm, and leading him into the air. "Let's get out of here."

They flew for a while, neither speaking a word. Vidia's sneers played over and over in his mind, and, though he knew a lot of what she said was purely spite, there was one thing that still baffled him.

"Fawn?"

"Yes?"

"I was thinkin' about...what Vidia said...and...I was just wonderin'...what's a bobble?"

Fawn paused with a sigh. "It's just a fancy word for a mistake," she answered carefully. "Don't listen to anything she says. She's literally the _worst_ fairy in the Hollow, and she hates when anyone's talent glow is near or brighter than hers."

"Oh." He frowned, thinking. Surely his glow hadn't been nearly bright enough to out do Vidia's, right? "I don't think she has to worry about me then. I don't think it was very spectacular."

"Nah, I'm sure it was _amazing,"_ Fawn answered. "I haven't seen Vidia so riled up since...well, I don't know when! And, oh! Look! We're here!" She pointed down below to the break in the earth, and before Phineas had a chance to protest, she grabbed his hand and pulled him down after her.

They landed cautiously amid lots of lights and noise. Fawn was greeted by several loud and boisterous voices from the left and right, and Phineas cringed back fearfully. Fawn called back a hello, and slung an arm around his shoulders, steering him away from the fairies.

"This is the workshop," Fawn explained calmly. "The heart of the Nook, and the center of all the work that goes on around here. Oh! There's Fairy Mary! Fairy Mary!" she called, waving.

"Oh! Fawn, dear! What are you doing here?" came a surprised tone from a large green blob before Phineas. He jumped nervously, and that's when she seemed to notice him. "And who's this?" she added pleasantly.

"Fairy Mary, this is Phineas," Fawn said cheerfully. "He's the new arrival, and he's one of yours." She pushed him forward, and he stumbled, rubbing a shoulder anxiously.

"Oh, really?" Mary's voice hitched slightly in surprise, and Phineas could feel the same emotion radiating from her mind. _He's...so small. How can--no, nope. It doesn't matter. If he's a tinker, then that's the way it_ _was_ _meant to be._ "Well," she went on. "It's very nice to meet you, Phineas. Welcome to Tinkers Nook."

"Thank ya," he said quickly. "It's...um...lovely?" He squinted, not sure his choice of words was accurate.

Both females laughed at this.

"All right," Fawn said, touching his arm gently. "You're here, safe and sound, so I'd better be getting back to my deliveries. See you at dinner? There's some people I'd like you to meet, okay?"

"Aye," he agreed, giving her one last smile. "Thank ya, Miss Fawn."

"So long, Fawn!" Fairy Mary called after the animal-talent. "Stay out of trouble now!"

"Always!" came the rapid response, as though they said that to one another often.

"Well, Phineas," Fairy Mary said kindly. "I take it Fawn has already given you a rundown of what goes on around here?"

"Aye," he nodded. He clutched his hammer anxiously as several fairies passing by paused to glance his way and their minds exploded with questions and observations.

_Said we might be getting a newbie today. Must be him._

_Poor little twig_. _This kind of work will break him._

Fairy Mary seemed to notice his hesitance. "Is there something wrong?"

He jerked back into focus. "Huh? What? Oh, no, I'm fine. Thank ya. Um...when can I... start?" He heard his words trembling, and he frantically worked to rid the quiver.

Mary laughed. "Well, an eager one aren't you? Tell you what, why don't you go to your house, see what work clothes you can come up with, and then meet me back here? I'll have a fairy here to teach you the ropes."

Phineas frowned. "I have a house?"

"Well, of course, dear! Where did you expect to sleep? In a flower? It's just over that ridge," she added, pointing away from the clearing.

_What kind of fairy doesn't know anything?_

_I hope he doesn't become my responsibility._

_He looks_ _entirely_ _useless._

_Too small._

_Too weak._

_Utterly helpless._

"Thank ya, Fairy Mary!" he gasped, wincing as he struggled to hold back the voices in his mind as they grew stronger and more overwhelming. And then, unable to take it any longer, he did the only thing he knew how to do.

He ran.


	3. Adventures in Tinkering

_"Sometimes hammers glow for a reason." ~ Iridessa_

* * *

The house Fairy Mary was speaking of was not at all difficult to locate, though he _did_ notice how unusually distant it was from the other workers, and even from the Nook itself, almost as if they were afraid of him. Though, for all of his pondering, he couldn't imagine why.

It was a simple house, made out of part of a tree and filled with an assortment of unusual objects that, at first glance, he had no idea what they were for. Their names, however, came to him, as though by magic. _Wrench, corkscrew, square, screwdriver.._.He counted them off, pausing to hold and weigh them each separately, eventually favoring the feeling of the wrench over the others. Immediately, he knew how each could be used, from the smallest twist on a wagon, to the repair of an entire structure.

Cautiously, he felt his way across the room, bumping into a small table and nearly spilling onto the floor. The first thing he would have to create would have to be to make a better way for him to see. Like Fawn had said, surely it could be done. _Right?_

But first thing first, he needed something to wear other than his snow-white arrival clothes. _Tinkers wear green_. He didn't know _how_ he knew that, he just did. After a few moments of fumbling around, he found what he supposed was intended to be the closet. Someone had taken the time to make him clothes, as he noticed the varying sizes, but even the smallest was nearly twice as big as him. Once more, he recalled the strange looks he'd received upon arriving.

_He's too small._

Exhaling loudly, he pulled the smallest outfit from the rack and tossed all the others aside, locating a pair of scissors and settling down to work at a desk. Even though he could barely see what he was doing, he managed to cut down the leaves until they were more appropriately sized, though the result was a bit jagged from him not knowing where to cut, but for now, it would do. He did the same to the pants, cutting them up to knee-length. He tied a rope around his waist as a substitute for a belt, and attempted to tame his unruly flames-for-hair.

He gave up on _that_ endeavor ten minutes later with _zero_ progress.

So, figuring he'd already kept Fairy Mary waiting long enough, he emerged back into the early morning light and flew back the way he'd come.

He was about fifteen feet from his house when he smashed into a tree branch and nearly fell from the sky. Hissing and clutching his arm tightly, he kept flying. Bits of bark had embedded just beneath his skin, and he carefully pulled them out, wincing with every movement. _"Splinters_ ," he cursed. Then, he stopped and chuckled, realizing the irony of his statement.

Removing the last of the pesky shards, he fluttered back into the Nook, watching as fairies bustled about, and attempting to sort them out and locate Fairy Mary.

He eventually found her next to a water wheel, talking with a sparrowman with thick brown hair. Their eyes turned toward him as he unsteadily landed and, at Mary's beckoning, walked over to join them.

"Ah! You're back! I trust you found your way all right?"

He hastily moved his hand to cover the scrapes and smiled shyly. "I...s'ppose so." His eyes moved from one fuzzy green blob to a smaller one.

"Oh! Right! Wedge, this is..." Fairy Mary began, only to pause and frown.

"Phineas," he finished promptly, sticking out his hand. He flashed Mary a reassuring smile. He could feel her embarrassment at forgetting his name, but he wasn't troubled. She must have had _dozens_ of fairies to lead. It took time to learn them all.

"Wedge," the sparrowman replied, taking his hand and shaking it hard enough to nearly throw Phineas's arm out of socket. "Nice to meet you. I'm supposed to give you the tutorial of what we do here. So, let's get to it, shall we?"

"Well, I'll leave you to it," Mary said. "But, Phineas, if you need anything, you let me know."

"I will," he said quickly. "Thank ya." He shifted guiltily. _How about a way to see what's going on right in front of me? And a promise that you won't be mad at me for lying? And a way to fix this...whatever is wrong with my talents?_

Fairy Mary nodded and then flew off.

"So!" Wedge said cheerfully, slapping Phineas on the back and sending the younger sparrowman careening forward with a yelp. "Has anyone given you a tour of the Hollow yet?"

"Uh...aye," Phineas replied, trying to stand. "Miss Fawn showed me around on the way."

"The animal-talent?"

Phineas nodded quietly.

"Ah, you got lucky, newbie. Fawn don't just take to any helpless twig that happens to come along." He laughed, but missed how the red-head winced behind a fake smile. "What'ja do? Get caught like a deer in torchlight?" He apparently found this completely hilarious, as he burst out laughing. "Get it? Deer? Fawn?"

"Aye, I got it," Phineas sighed. "She accidently bumped into me, that's all. And the Nook was on her way."

Wedge was nodding. "Right, yeah, sure." He didn't sound like he believed him. "Over here," he added, fluttering over to a mushroom cap table and picking up a variety of tools. "This is the workshop," he went on. "This is where we do all our daily work. Each day, Fairy Mary will give us our assignments. Most times, we stay here. Occasionally we are sent out on deliveries. We follow a rotation schedule. And you, newbie, will be added to the end."

"Deliveries?" Phineas echoed, frowning.

"Yeah," Wedge replied. "We take equipment to all the different fairy talents. For example; these right here." He held up a few long cylinders. "These are rainbow wands. They're for the light talents." He handed them to Phineas, who studied them closely. "The last twenty are going out today. And _this_ is what we're going to be working on."

He gestured to something large, brown and green, and leather-like. Phineas followed his gesture. He opened his mouth to ask what they were, but Wedge overenthusiastically answered before he could speak. "They're baskets for the Winter Woods!"

"The...Winter Woods?" This time, he didn't wait for Wedge to explain. He plucked the answers from the sparrowman's head instead.

 _The Winter Woods is so beautiful! And the snow. I wonder if it feels like sugar...and the owls! Man, I wish I could ride one of those things. I wonder if the cold fairies get to? Huh. Sometimes I wish I were a winter fairy. That way, I could be over there, frosting trees and sledding down banks of snow instead of here, teaching_ this one _what it is we do here. Why does it seem like he's not actually paying attention to me? I get the feeling he knows more than he says, and...well, I suppose, if he gets behind on his workload, that just means one less fairy I have to babysit. He won't amount to anything, anyway._

Phineas swallowed hard and backed away, trying desperately to sever the connection to Wedge's mind, but to his despair, he couldn't.

 _Even Fairy Mary is concerned. It's obvious she doesn't think he'll be able to keep up_. _Why she lets him stay is beyond me, as it is clear he can't work alone. He thought he hid those scratches well, but I suspect he didn't see the tree at all._

_I wonder if he can see at all._

"Hey," he said aloud. "You okay there, Phineas? You look like you've seen a ghost."

_Ha. Coward._

"I'm...I'm fine," Phineas squeaked, falling back against a second table, breathing heavily. "It's...it's so... _hot._ " All of a sudden, he couldn't breathe. He clutched his head at the pounding throb of surprised worry from Wedge.

"What are you talking about?" the sparrowman demanded. "It's only forty degrees this morning! Are you sure you're feeling all right? Do you need to go see a healing fairy?"

 _"Oh..._ " Phineas grimaced. "I'm...all right. Let's...work on the...baskets." He pushed himself up and stumbled back over to join his coworker.

"Just weave them, like this," Wedge instructed, taking a few pieces of grass and showing him how. "Then, once you finish these rows, I can attach them all together, all right?"

Phineas nodded, and Wedge hurried away to work on something at a further table. The pain increased, and Phineas nearly crushed the reeds in his fists. Fortunately, Wedge hadn't seemed to notice anything was off.

Or how the water in the stream suddenly seemed to flow faster than before.

He worked quietly for the next hour, biting back the pain, and focusing his attention instead on tucking the blades through the right portion of the basket when everything looked exactly the same. Blurry. Splotched. Ugly.

He sighed, shaking slightly, and stood up, backing off to wash the chlorophyll from his hands in the stream. He ignored Wedge's curious gaze as he knelt down and ran a hand through the water, feeling it lurch and mold around his fingers. He blinked, confused. He didn't know much about water, but he was _very_ sure it wasn't supposed to do that.

But that wasn't all.

_He could see his hand._

It wasn't blurry! He could see it perfectly! That was the answer to his problem! He needed to use the water! The only question was; _how_? He certainly couldn't do all his work under the water. That was just plain crazy. But...maybe...there could be another way.

"Hey, Wedge!" he called. "Um...is there a way to draw some of this? For an experiment."

"Hmmm," the sparrowman replied, wandering over, glancing from Phineas to the stream and back again. "Well, I suppose you could talk to the water-talents. They might help you."

 _Water-talents. Silvermist was one of them_. His heart swelled at the thought of seeing her again, and actually getting to talk to her. "Er...would it be all right if I went to talk to them? I...completed all of my work."

"Hmmm," Wedge said again, crossing his arms. "Well, I guess so."

Phineas grinned. "Great! Thank ya!"

"But do you know where to find them?" Wedge went on. "Or how to get there?"

"Oh...actually, no. I don't." Phineas blushed a little, realizing that he would have just ended up flying around lost, again.

"Thought not. Well, today is Saturday. They should be practicing in the Summer Meadow. Near Havendish Stream." Wedge went back to the table and began collecting up the completed reeds. "Just fly south. Look for the big body of water. You really can't miss it."

"Thanks," Phineas said gratefully. He took off quickly, leaving the Nook behind and breaking through the trees into the glorious morning's light. By now, the sun had risen over the horizon, and the seasons were bathed in golden light. He took a deep breath, pushing away all the negative and disappointed thoughts from Wedge's mind, and focusing on finding Havendish Stream.

Near the border for Summer, several shimmering golden glows caught his attention, and he watched as several fairies clad in black and gray sped by, whooping and laughing as they performed cartwheels in midair, and fenced with small quills. He watched, intrigued, until they were long past, and then he continued on his way.

The meadow wasn't difficult to locate, even with his eyesight. The stream was only a little further on, and all he had to do was follow the laughs and calls of a large number of fairies. They weren't quite as loud as the tinkers, but Phineas once again felt out of place with his quiet, timid nature.

He swooped low through the grass, and landed on a long dirt path, run down by several sets of wagon wheels. It didn't stretch his imagination to guess that this was the traveling path from Tinkers Nook to the meadow. If he followed the trail, it should take him where he wanted to go.

The air was warmer here, and he found the walk almost pleasant. The pain of trying to escape Wedge's mind faded as he went out of range, and relaxed into a simple dull hum in the back of his mind. He sighed, relieved to be free of that burden, and possibly on the verge of solving his other problem. 

He trekked in silence for a while, just listening to the sounds of birds gliding overhead, and the rustling of strange pointy plants in the weeds.

_Wait...what?_

He froze at a particularly close shuffle, and looked around wildly. The grass on either side of him swayed, and he swung to face it. "W-who's there?" he stammered. "I-I know you're there! S-show yourself!" 

Stillness.

_What's out there? Is it watching me? Is it dangerous?_

"I mean it!" he tried again, clenching his hands into fists and bringing them in front of his face protectively. He knew he wasn't much of a fighter, and he could feel himself trembling fearfully, but whoever was there had to be a fairy, right? Meaning he could at least _try_ and defend himself.

The grass opposite him rustled now.

He whipped around. "W-wedge?" he called, his voice cracking. "Is that y-ya? T-this...this isn't funny!" 

There was no answer from the tinker. 

Phineas panicked. He could feel his legs shaking, and he swallowed back a clump of fear. Fawn had warned him about getting pranked on his first day, but this seemed exceptionally extreme. So, either it was Vidia (and he _did_ think of that, but he didn't sense her anywhere nearby), or someone just had terrible timing and a poor sense of humor. 

The rustle came once more, and he braced himself as the grass before him parted, and his pursuers became visible for the first time. 

They weren't fairies at all. 

They were humongous plants.

And they were stampeding right at him. 


	4. Water Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All this just to make a pair of goggles? XD

_"Turn these eyes to_ _my_ _sole protector, break the will of this born defector." ~I Just Need U by Tobymac_

* * *

Phineas screamed, throwing his arms over his head as a shield and throwing himself against the ground as the plants stampeded toward him. He could feel the earth shaking all around him, and he cursed his curiosity which had gotten him into this mess to begin with.

The first of the plants barrelled past him, just narrowly missing him. Others swerved to avoid the random obstacle in their path, while still _others_ crashed into him at full speed. Their spiky leaves left gashes up and down his limbs and across his torso. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for it to end, even as a slash appeared on his face and he whimpered fearfully.

 _I should never have come here. I should have_ _stayed_ _in the Nook. This was a_ _stupid_ _idea_ _. Wedge was right. I_ am _helpless._

"Fast-fairies, on my mark!"

A shout rose above the tumult, strong and steady. He didn't dare lift his head, even as he heard the reassuring hums of several pairs of wings surrounding him. He trembled as the clash of swords and leaves flooded his ears, and he barely felt small arms wrap around him and drag him into the air, out of the way of the crazy weeds.

He yelped in shock, lashing out, and hitting something very solid behind him.

" _Ow_! Hey! Watch it, sparrowman! I'm trying to save you!" came a heavily accented feminine voice from near his left ear. "Or maybe you'd prefer I put ya back in the field with them spooked thistles?"

 _Thistles? That's what those were?_ He shook his head mutely, and received a snort of laughter in reply. They landed in a small clump of grass a little ways away, and he spun to face his rescuer. She was a fairy a little bit shorter than him with lengthy red hair and a long pink dress. Even without being able to fully see her, he could tell she was _breathtaking._

She caught him gawking, and she folded her arms with a small smirk. "Well? Got an explanation or are ya just going to stand there staring at me all day?" Her words were sharp, but Phineas could hear the amusement in her mind.

 _He must be new,_ she decided. _Every fairy knows to avoid the Sprinting Thistles. There isn't a garden fairy alive who can_ _tame_ _them. Such a shame really._

"E-explaination?" he repeated, swallowing nervously.

"What are ya doing out here all by your lonesome? Especially here. Needlepoint Meadow is dangerous. No fairy is supposed to come alone. Queen Clarion's orders."

"Oh... _ah_...I didn't...I didn't know, Miss...?"

"Rosetta," the fairy responded.

"Phineas," he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet ya. Now, answer my question. Sprinting Thistles are no trifle matter, and certainly not to be messed with. Who told ya to come here, and a better question, where are they?"

"Um...I just thought..." He trailed off as he heard the shouts of the fast-flyers in the grass beyond. Glancing over his shoulder nervously, the realization of how much danger he'd actually been in crashed over him, and he felt immediately grateful to this fairy for pulling him out.

His attempt at an apology was interrupted by the flurry of wings, and he jumped as a fast-flyer appeared before them, her eyes scanning him and then jumping to Rosetta as she began to speak. "The thistles are gone," she said. "But, I suggest you show your friend here the way out before he causes anymore trouble."

"Of course," Rosetta said quickly. "Right away. Thank you, Tumble. Phineas, come with me." Then, before he could protest, she took his arm and yanked him after her. She pulled him away from the meadow and back toward Spring.

"Why did ya do that?" he inquired as the garden-talent. "Lie for me, I mean."

"You made a mistake," Rosetta said. "It happens. And now that you know what can happen, I hope you won't go snoopin' around anymore."

"I won't," Phineas promised fervently. "I swear."

"All right then. So, what brings a tinker out to these parts? It's obvious ya aren't on delivery, what with no mouse or nothin'. Fawn told me you had trouble seein', but I never expected you to go wanderin' about the Hollow all by yourself!"

"Fawn...told ya?" He blinked. "Ya know Fawn?"

"Young sparrowman, _everyone_ knows Fawn. But, yes, we are pretty close friends, and I tell you, she was nearly bursting with excitement when I saw her. Told me all about how she got to the show the 'new fairy' around. She's taken quite a likin' to you."

" _Oh,_ " Phineas rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, thank ya? I think? And, I was here hopin' to run 'cross a water-talent fairy. I...had an idea, and...I needed some...water ta prove it. Wedge said they would be out here, so..."

"Wedge?" Rosetta frowned suddenly and crossed her arms.

"Uh...aye? Miss Rosetta, is...somethin' the matter?"

"Well, let's just say, Wedge is...also well known around the Hollow. And...not in a good way, per se. He's...quite fond of tryin' to scare newer arrivals into leaving. Everyone knows he's jealous. He's...well, to be quite frank, the Vidia of the tinker guild. I'm _sure_ he didn't mean to put you in harm's way, but he can be a bit...reckless."

"Oh," Phineas said again, looking down at his hands shamefully. "And I fell for his tricks." _I should have known better. I should have seen what he was plotting. If only I'd payed more attention..._

 _"_ Now, chin up," Rosetta instructed. "You couldn't have known what he was plannin'. This is only your first day, after all. No one expects you to be perfect right away! Now, come on," she added, holding out her hand. "I'll take you to the water-talents...that is, if the thistles didn't rough you up too badly?"

"I'm all right," he said, taking her hand gratefully.

"It's not far," she assured him. "Just past those trees. Follow me. It's all right." She sounded so calm now, very different then she had been moments before. It was almost like she'd flipped an invisible switch, and now that she knew he wasn't some bumbling dummy, she had claimed him as a friend and had instantly taken him under her wing. Literally.

They flew out of the meadow and over several multicolored trees. Rosetta didn't say much to him as they flew, but he took that as more due to her concentration then to anything he'd done. They passed several bubbling steams and animal talents working with a herd of baby robins, and Rosetta led him down to the fourth stream, where a bunch of blue-clad fairies could be seen darting about, their minds as excited and bubbly as the water they were transporting.

They landed softly in the grass, and hurried to the water's edge. Several curious gazes followed them, but Rosetta ignored them as she spied a single figure crouched beside the water, talking with some kind of blurry brown object. Phineas recognized her voice immediately.

"Hey, Sil!" Rosetta called, waving excitedly.

Silvermist jumped, startled, and the brown objects disappeared beneath the surface as she twirled to face the new arrivals. "Ro!" she laughed, waving back. "Hi! And... _oh_!" Her gaze immediately snapped to Phineas. "I know you! Your arrival ceremony was this morning, right?" She didn't give him a chance to respond before she went on hurriedly. "I'm Silvermist...or, Sil, if you'd prefer. Welcome to Havendish Stream! Practice grounds of us water-talent fairies. _Oh_!" Her eyes got large as she spun back to Rosetta. "Is that why you've brought him here? _Is he a water fairy?"_

"Sil, take a breath," Rosetta commanded. "This is Phineas. He's a tinker. See all the _green?"_

"Oh...yeah... _right,_ " Silvermist smiled shyly. She fluttered up so close that he could _almost_ see her. "I'm glad you got a talent," she went on. "Sorry your ceremony went all _bleh. Sooooo_ , what brings you here? Did you come to meet the tadpoles? Willy and Nilly are the babies. Miene and Mo are the parents. Come on, I'll show you!"

Without warning, she lunged forward and took his hand, pulling him toward the water. He yelped in surprise, and she giggled as she knelt down next to the water and gestured for him to do the same. He cautiously obeyed, eyeing the blue swirls lapping before him warily.

"Hang on," Silvermist told him. "They are a little shy around new fairies, but I think I can get them to come over." She brought two fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle. For a moment, nothing happened. The water remained perfectly serene.

Phineas was about to point out that the call hadn't seemed to work, when suddenly, four pairs of bright eyes peeked out at him from the water. "WHOA!" he cried, falling backward after realizing that he could _see_ them. He could see them! Small, strange, brown, wriggly worm-like-bodies and all!

"What?" Silvermist asked anxiously. "What is it?" She was at his side in a moment, helping him stand. "Are you _all right?_ "

"I...I can see 'em, Miss Sil!" he exclaimed, staring at the tadpoles in wonderous shock. "I...I can _really_ see 'em!" He slowly reached into the water to touch them. The water rippled around his hand, and he did his best to ignore that as the smallest of the polliwogs wriggled over and pressed against him lovingly.

"Uh...yeah? You can? They aren't ghosts, you know. And hey, they really seem to like you." She giggled.

"Phineas has trouble seeing, sweetie," Rosetta explained, fluttering up between them. "Now," she went on. "I believe there was somethin' you were going to ask Sil here about?" She glanced at him pointedly, and only then did he remember why he was _actually_ there.

"Oh...right." He retracted his hand. Immediately, the tadpoles looked up at him sadly. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain his plan while Silvermist and Rosetta nodded. Sil's grin grew wider and wider with each passing minute, and it was clear she was excited at the chance to be a help. "So, ya see Miss Silvermist, I was kinda hopin' you would help me with the water...assumin' I could make something to hold it."

"Of course!" Sil laughed.

"Ya know," Rosetta said thoughtfully. "I've heard tell of a fairy livin' in winter who shaped seein' devices out of ice. Now, obviously, we don't have that here, but that gives me an idea. Here. I'll show you." She led him away from the stream, collecting odds and ends that she'd found lying around. "Now, I'm no tinker, but, I've watched some of the best, so I think this should work. If you could...I don't know...shape these to fit around your eyes, and made a way to hold it on your face, you could put the water here. Basic concept, naturally." She shrugged. "Working out the tiny details would be more your thing."

"And the water should work?" he inquired.

"See for yourself!" Silvermist called, darting up, a ball of water hovering between her hands.

Phineas reached out to grab it, but caught himself at the last moment, and knelt down to peer through it instead. He gasped as the world swirled into focus, and Sil and Ro were visible for the first time. "Wow..." he breathed.

"I know," Rosetta sighed, messing with her hair. "I look atrocious."

"N-no, Miss Rosetta! N-not at all!" he stammered. "Ya look--ARRGGGGH!" 

There was a blur of movement, and Silvermist's face appeared on the other end of the water. She giggled as he fell over in shock and she quickly pulled back the water to look at him. "'Argh?'" she repeated. "Are you a _pirate?_ "

Phineas blinked as he clambered back up, embarrassed. "Uh..."

"Of course he's not a pirate, Sil!" Rosetta cut back in. " _Honestly_!" She put her hands on her hips and shook her head at the water fairy. "But, really, do you think my idea could work?" she went on, directing her words to the tinker who was already pacing around, his mind kicking into high gear. 

"Maybe..." he admitted. "Let me see what I can.. _.oh_!" He flew off before either of the girls could say anything. He returned almost as quickly, carrying an armload of oddities. "Here," he went on, quickly fastening the random objects into position. "Silvermist, would ya please put that water here?" He pointed, and the water fairy quickly obliged. "Thanks," he said, carefully picking up the device, surprised that the liquid didn't explode the moment he moved, and clumsily attempted to fit it around his head.

"Oh, here, let me," Rosetta offered, hurrying over to take the straps from him. "Tell me when it's tight enough."

"Much obliged," he replied, smiling as he cautiously opened his eyes and looked around. Oh, how clear the world seemed! Almost no blur whatsoever! He watched as three brightly colored butterflies glided lazily past, and then over to a ladybug that glanced his way curiously. Everything was so _big._ It was incredible!

"There," Rosetta said, coming around to face him. "How does that feel?"

"Amazin'," he replied. "Everythin' is so beautiful!"

"Whoa," Silvermist added, fluttering over to join them. "You look so different!" 

He chuckled nervously. "That bad, huh?"

"N _ooooo_ ," she said carefully. "Just...different." She smiled up at him, and he could feel his weariness melt away. Sil giggled again. "You look like an entirely different fairy now!" 

" _Really_?" he said hopefully. They were telling the truth. He could sense it in both of their minds; a common thought _. It actually worked_.

And that was about the time the water popped.

He sighed, while the girls broke down in smothered giggles. It was as if they felt bad, but couldn't help, but laugh at the sight.

Phineas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, at least it was a start. And, actually, that gives me an idea!"


	5. Getting Answers and Raising Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even his spiffy new goggles aren't enough to help him foresee what trouble he's about to be in...

**_I wrote this part on my phone, so hopefully it still looks right to those of you using a PC...if not, I am very sorry._ **

* * *

_He stood amid a burning forest. Ash and_ _cinders_ _rained_ _down_ _upon him,_ _and_ _he could see nothing_ _through_ _the black smoke._ _He called for others as he stumbled_ _forward_ _. His body screamed in protest, and his knees were weak. Blood seeped from a gash in his arm, but he ignored it and pressed on._

_There was no way of knowing_ _where_ _he_ _was._ _Nothing_ _looked at all familar, though he was aware_ _that_ _he was wearing his goggles,_ _and_ _,_ _for_ _some reason, he sensed he no longer had_ _to_ _keep his_ _powers_ _a secret. But where was he? And why was he all alone?_

_"Bobble!"_

_He froze instinctively,_ _hearing_ _a voice rising_ _from_ _somewhere behind him. He turned to see the_ _faint_ _glow of wings barrelling_ _toward_ _him. He squinted, and it was a moment_ _before_ _he_ _realized_ _that_ _it was a_ _fairy_ _racing_ _toward_ _him._

_She wasn't someone he had met. She was blond. She wore a green dress, so there was a good_ _chance_ _she was a tinker like him--or, like he pretended to be._

_He didn't know who she was shouting at, but it didn't matter. To his surprise, she_ _grabbed_ _his hand as she zipped by and yanked him_ _after_ _her. He tried to protest, to find out what was going on, but his words were lost in_ _the_ _loud_ _hissing and the tremendous_ _explosion_ _that shook_ _the_ _earth and sent_ _everything_ _spiraling to black._

_Now, he_ _found_ _himself_ _standing_ _in_ _a_ _darkened_ _hall, facing a long corridor that seemed to extend forever. He called out, but the fairy who'd been beside him was gone. The air was frozen, and as he cautiously took a step forward, he slipped on the iced floor._

_"Masssster...he's come!"_

_He froze, hearing the hiss_ _through_ _the_ _darkness_ _. He_ _felt_ _his hands growing_ _warm_ _, and he looked down,_ _watching_ _as red light illuminated his fingertips. A whoosh of fire shot through his nerves and he fell back as a dark shadow materialized_ _before_ _him,_ _soulless_ _eyes gazing deep into his soul._

_"Thisss issss the one. Jusssstttt feel hisss power. One of puressst intentionssss, ssssoon to become the desssstroyer."_

_The_ _shadow_ _lunged for him,_ _piercing_ _his very soul. He screamed, and covered his_ _face_ _, falling hard against the nonexistent floor. There was a jolt of bone-crushing pain...and then stillness._

He awoke in a cold sweat, shaking violently, blankets pulled all the way up over his shoulders. Even as he blinked open his eyes, he could feel himself trembling. Carefully, he sat up, swinging himself around to sit on the edge of his bed and stare at himself in the mirror. Here he was, a ragged, disheveled mess. His clothes, still filthy from his adventures with the Sprinting Thistles, and his goggles pushed up in his messy hair. He sighed, pulling them over his eyes and reaching for the water dropper he'd crafted with Rosetta's help. It was a bit of a crude method, but at least it was enough to make sure he could see, if only for a few minutes at a time.

After refilling the lenses, he tried once more to brush his hair, only having partial success as a great deal of it went haywire around his glasses. Once again, he gave up, and focused on doing anything that involved ignoring the dream as it pounded its way against his mind. He fell back against his bed with a breathy sigh. What had that shadow thing meant? The destroyer? Was that some kind of...warning? Did it have something to do with his talent...with being a Protector?

Now that he stopped to think about it, he didn't really know that much about what it really meant to be the Protector. Queen Clarion had already mentioned that it meant he was supposed to defend the Hollow. But defend it from what? From what he'd seen, the worst danger was the Sprinting Thistles, and the fast-flying guild seemed to have that entirely under control. He didn't understand what purpose _he_ had.

Perhaps it was time to get some answers. It was early yet. The Queen would be meeting with the Ministers in the Pixie dust Tree, or so Silvermist had told him. That was perfect. He had questions. Clarion could answer them. All he had to do was get there without getting lost. Not too hard, right?

Wrong.

Even as he stepped out his door, he realized that he was _far_ too early. The sun hadn't yet risen and the peepers were still in high song. Glancing at the sky and studying the moon, he guessed it was barely past midnight. It would be a long time before the Queen would wake to do anything.

He sighed. Well, he had to do something. He couldn't wake Clarion, and Fairy Mary would probably throw something hard and pointy at him if he went to her for advice at this time of night, and there was _absolutely_ no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep.

The flicker of lights from the Summer Forest caught his eye, and he watched several faint glows whiz and dart in that direction. They were strange. Like little insects with...lights. Curious, he decided to follow them, so, after making sure he had enough pixie dust, he took off into the night.

He found it much easier to travel when he could actually see where the things were that he _didn't_ want to hit. It was actually relaxing to fly, knowing that he wouldn't smash into a hundred trees, or upset an entire basket of fresh leaves, or paint, or seeds, or anything else he'd knocked over the day before.

_At least no one can laugh at me for being clumsy now. Or being late_. He shuddered, recalling Wedge's look of enjoyment when he had finally made his way back to the Nook later that afternoon, and Fairy Mary's impatient scowl as she told him that he couldn't simply go running off whenever he so pleased.

_"There is work to be done!" she had scolded him. "And one simply can not get behind on his work because he was out lollygagging._ _We are only weeks away from the turning of the seasons and there is so_ _much_ _that still needs to be done!"_

He'd apologized to her immediately, but he left the part about Wedge saying it was okay out. He would take the blame. He wasn't low enough to pass the fault onto him. After all, maybe he'd just made a mistake?

Or...maybe not.

_"Hey! Hey, Kettletree!" Wedge_ _had_ _called,_ _chasing_ _him_ _down_ _as soon as Fairy Mary was out of sight. "Nice specs! So, what did you think of Needlepoint Meadow?"_

_"Wedge,_ _I've_ _had a long day," he replied evasively. "Can we talk_ _about_ _this tomorrow?" And by_ tomorrow, _he_ _actually_ _meant_ never. _He tried to sidestep the sparrowman, but his guildmate was faster, and zipped in front of him._

_"Nah, man, come on! I wanna know how it went! Did you see a thistle? What did you think?"_

_"They were loud, fast, and annoyin'. Now please, I want to go home."_

_"But--"_

_"Wedge," Phineas repeated for the third time, officially tired of the trickster's jabbing. "I don't feel like talkin' right now. I'm goin' home." He put a hand on his shoulder to pull the sparrowman to the side so he could pass. "I'll see ya later."_

_"Yeah...yeah..okay," the brunette sighed, letting him by in confusion. "I'll...see you tomorrow then._ "

_Phineas waved a farewell as he walked off. It wasn't until he was far off that he felt the heat in his palms, and looked down in confusion to see the faint glow in his fingers. Curious, he touched a nearby leaf._

_It shriveled up and died the moment his fingers brushed it._

_Terrified, he retracted his hand_ _._ _Fortunately, no one_ _was_ _around to_ _see_ _, and he didn't_ _hang_ _around for someone to_ _catch_ _him. He_ _fled_ _as fast as his wings would carry him._

_By the time he'd reached his house, however, the light had faded, and he safely entered the front door without setting anything on fire. And that was where he'd holed himself up for the rest of the day._

The night air whooshed past him as he chased the sparkling dots of light through the winding trees. Their number seemed to multiply the further into the shadows he went, and he slowed to avoid crashing into them. They appeared to be...bugs...of come kind. He wished Fawn was there to tell him exactly what they were.

_They look like...flashy...thingies._

Very unscientific, but he didn't care. There had to be someone out that could tell him what they really were, right? Night-talent fairies or something. He just had to find them. And a large gathering of...things...did not just congregate for no reason. They had to be going _somewhere_.

That somewhere ended up being Sunflower Meadow, right next door to Needlepoint, but without all the troublesome thistles. He landed quietly in a tree and watched the creatures zip into the meadow, spiraling amongst themselves, creating a tornado of light and squeaking happily. He leaned against an arm, watching them, mesmerized by the light show they were putting on. Whatever those are, they sure do know how to dance.

It was over a minute before he realized there was another glow amongst the crowd. A fairy's. He watched as she twirled and leaped with the creatures, directing them to their next positions. She was dressed in all yellow, and she laughed as several bugs missed their marks and ended up crashing into her. She straightened them back out and, smiling, pointed them to their next positions across the field.

"Are you watching the fireflies?"

Phineas yelped at the voice in his ear. His body immediately reacted, and he found himself falling forward. His arms pinwheeled and he lost his balance, freefalling for the ground. Before he could get very far, he felt a hand grab his arm and heave him slowly back onto the branch. As soon as he touched down, Silvermist started apologizing frantically.

_What if he's hurt?_ her mind exploded _. What if I hurt him? Oh, he'll hate me forever! Apologize, Silvermist, you clumsy water fairy!_

"It's...it's okay," Phineas tried to assure her weakly as her mind kept shooting snapped remarks at herself. "Sil, it's _fine_. Please, don't worry about it."

"Okay." She blinked up at him, a small smile spreading across her face. "So...?"

"So?" he echoed, confused. The flashes vanished from her mind, and he barely held back a sigh of relief.

" _So,_ watcha think?" the water-talent went on. "Pretty, aren't they?"

"Very pretty," he agreed, still looking at her.

She giggled and turned him to face the meadow. "The _fireflies,_ silly."

_He's certainly a strange sparrowman. But I think I like that about him. Even if he is a little shy. I can be friends with shy. At least he isn't boring like_ some _fairies I know._

"Oh...right...aye...of course. That's...what I meant." He could feel himself turning red, so he quickly changed the subject. "That fairy out there--"

"That's Iridessa," Silvermist explained. "She's a light-talent fairy. She _was_ the newest arrival, until you. Do you wanna meet her?"

" _Meet who_?"

Both fairies jumped at a third voice, and they turned as Vidia appeared from the trees, arms crossed, scowling at the two of them.

"V-vidia," Silvermist stammered. _What is she doing here? She's not on patrol tonight! Wait...did she follow me? Are we in trouble for being here? But, Dessa said--_

"You heard me," the fast-flying talent snapped, her steely glare fixating itself on Phineas. "I asked you a question, and I think it would be in your best interests to answer as promptly as possible."

"Uh...well, ya see," Phineas stumbled over words, gesturing frantically as he attempted to come up with a reasonable excuse for why they were there. "We were here, watchin' for...for...fireflies," he blurted at the same moment that Silvermist shouted, "Birds!"

They looked at each other in dispair.

"Birds!" Phineas amended himself. Sil burst out with, "Fireflies!"

_We're doomed._

Vidia sighed. "All right. So which is it?"

The two gulped.

"Well, ya see, the truth is..." _What should_ _I_ _tell her?_ He shot Silvermist a desperate look. She saw it and quickly stood up in an attentive position.

"I was teaching Phin here how to watch for birds at night, _using_ the fireflies!" Silvermist lied quickly. "But," she added glumly. "I think that's all ruined now." She hung her head, and then, when Vidia rolled her eyes, she shot the tinker a wink.

He smiled.

Vidia's glare snapped back to him. "And what are you smirking at, Bobble?"

"My name's Phineas," he mumbled, looking away from her and suddenly finding his shoes extraordinarily interesting. He tried to block out all the other names she was mentally calling him. He just wanted to _leave_. But something held him fast. It was what was coming from her mind next.

Vidia narrowed her eyes. _He seems so_ _smart_ _, and yet, so dumb at the same time. It's like he is two_ _entirely_ _different_ _fairies_ _and he switches between them faster than a light_ _fairy_ _can_ _produce light._

_Why does it feel like he's hiding something?_

"Hello! What's all this commotion?"

While they'd been arguing, the light fairy, Iridessa, had finally noticed them and had fluttered up behind Sil. They whipped around and Vidia huffed at the sight of her.

Immediately, a burst of pain shot through Phineas's head, and he barely stifled a gasp as he saw the forest from his dream. But this time, he wasn't alone. This fairy was fending off shadows nearby. She was one of the ones screaming. She was dying.

_But she's standing_ _right_ _in front of me. She's safe._

"Oh! Dessa!" Silvermist exclaimed. "I want you to meet Phineas! He's the new tinker!"

"Hello!" Iridessa said, waving shyly. "Nice to meet you. Sorry if I was interrupting something."

"Oh, no, ya weren't!" Phineas said quickly, ignoring Vidia's nods from behind him. "I was just...leavin'."

"Oh, wait!" Silvermist protested. "You don't have to leave! Vidia should be the one leaving! You weren't doing anything wrong by wanting to see the fireflies!"

"It's okay, lassie," he said. "Really. I need to be gettin' to work soon anyway." _I need to get away_ _before_ _that dream comes back._

"In the middle of the night?" Vidia sounded doubtful.

"Erm...aye. Ya know how Fairy Mary is about work bein' done." He slowly took a step back, opening his wings to fly.

"No," Vidia said again. "Tell us."

_He's getting ready to flee. He's scared of something. I wonder what. Well, no matter. I can easily chase after him. No big deal._

"Phin," Sil said, frowning worriedly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothin'. I just...don't feel well, that's all."

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Iridessa asked. "I can take you."

"No...that's okay. I'm just...gonna mosey home. I'm sure I'll feel better by mornin'."

"Well, if you're sure--"

He took off before she could finish, flying away as fast as his wings could carry him. Just as he'd suspected, there was a shout, and a second pair of wings took to the air to give chase.

Vidia was right behind him, and there was _no way_ he could outfly her without revealing his powers. But, if she caught up with him, she would just shake it out of him anyway.

"Stop! Tinker, STOP!" Vidia yelled.

He ignored her. _Catch me if you can._ Summoning a will he didn't know he had, he put on another burst of speed and took off into the trees.

_That sparrowman is fast!_

Vidia hissed as she too sped up.

They darted and wove between the tree branches, Phineas ducking and swerving expertly between the limbs and giving Vidia the chase of her life.

_He's careful and meticulous._

Too _careful. No tinker can fly like_ that.

They rounded the bend toward Spring. He could see the moon reflecting down on the pink blossoms, transforming them silver. If he could make it there, he could disappear among the petals. Vidia would never be able to find him. He'd be safe.

Unfortunately, Vidia had the same thought.

"Stop!" she shouted again, this time sounding more worried. "SPARROWMAN, STOP RUNNING AWAY!"

He glanced back at her, but he didn't stop.

He should have.

He slammed full-force into the blossoms. The shock of the impact froze his wings, and he came to a sudden halt. Vidia appeared behind him seconds later, breathless. He tried to recover and fly away, but she grabbed him by the shirt collar and drug him back.

"You...have...a lot of...explaining to...do. So...start...singing." Her face was steaming red. She was _furious._

_"_ Let _go_ of me!" Phineas snapped, struggling to get free of her vice grip. He flailed and kicked, but Vidia continued to hold on without giving an inch.

"Not until you tell me just how a tinker of your stature manages to outfly the _fastest_ fairy in all of the Hollow." Vidia glared up at him. "First your ceremony goes catywhompus, and then you come out _claiming_ to be a tinker, and now you _outpace me._ Call me suspicious, but that seems all just a little too...perfect."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about!" Phineas protested wildly. "I'm a tinker! That's all I am!"

_Lies._

_Lies._

_LIES._

"I don't believe you," Vidia snapped. "And I don't think Queen Ree will either." She let go of his shirt and grabbed his arm tightly instead. "I think she would be _extremely_ interested to learn how a tinker managed to get his hands on extra Pixie dust, don't you? Unless...you care to tell me what is _really_ going on?"

"I...I can't."

_More lies. He knows something. I don't know what, but he flew faster than any_ _fairy_ _I_ _have_ _ever met. It shouldn't be possible. Especially not_ _from_ _a simple tinker._

_His_ _talent_ _glow shouldn't have been so bright either. It's almost as if...he's not really_ _a_ _tinker_ at all.

She steered him sharply away from Spring and toward the Pixie dust tree instead. "Last chance, sparrowman."

"I don't know anythin'! And I didn't steal any dust!"

"Suit yourself. Let's see what the Queen has to say about this."

_So, if he is_ _telling_ _the truth, and I think he is, that_ _means_ _he was flying like that of his own abilities. And tinkers,_ _though_ _sufficient builders, are definitely considered_ _slower_ _than all other talents. So why isn't he? If_ _I_ _am right,_ _he's_ _not who he says he is. And that_ _leaves_ _one very important question._

_If he's not who he says he is, then_ who _is he, and_ what _is he hiding?_


	6. Getting Told Off

They flew toward the tree in silence. Vidia had let go of him, but was tailing so close that he had absolutely no chance of flying away, even if he wanted to. A million scenarios were rushing through the fast-flying talent's mind, but so far, she hadn't come to the correct conclusion. Not that he expected her to. After all, no one knew the Protectors existed.

She was still convinced he'd somehow stolen the Pixie dust, which left her in a state of confusion, somewhere between _incredibly impressed_ and _undoubtedly angry_ that he'd supposedly been able to do what she couldn't. 

He didn't know how to convince her otherwise without telling her the truth. The _whole_ truth. Exactly what he had been _specifically_ instructed _not_ to tell anyone. Well, the Queen would know that he wasn't stealing dust, and if Vidia would have taken the time to visit the Dust-talents, she would have known that he had not yet gone there for rations as Fairy Mary seemed to like to bring them to him personally. 

They reached the Pixie dust Tree a few minutes later. Phineas landed unsteadily on the flattened surface, shooting Vidia a nervous glance as she touched down behind him and shoved him forward.

The Queen and the Ministers were in the middle of a late-night meeting, so Phineas was more than content to sit outside on one of the knotted branches and wait, but the fast-flyer would have none of it. She heaved him up by the back of his shirt and, opening the door with a bang, practically tossed him in, much to the shock of the fairies already gathered.

Redleaf and Hyacinth gasped and Snowflake covered her mouth as Phineas hit the floor before them, coughing, and Vidia stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

_What is Vidia doing here?_

_And why is she throwing about that twig of a sparrowman?_

"Vidia," Queen Clarion spoke as Phineas struggled up. She was forcing herself to be calm. He could hear it in her words and in her mind. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Yes! We are in the middle of an important meeting!" Redleaf butted in.

"Now, now, Minister," Clarion said soothingly. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation." Her gaze was fixed on Phin, and he could hear her underlying fears, even as he kept his eyes down.

_He's been caught._

_Does she know?_

_How many others discovered the truth?_

_How?_

"I've caught your dust thief, Your Majesty!" Vidia blurted. " _He's_ the one who has been stealing all of the tree's extra dust!"

 _Is_ that _what this is all about? Oh, Vidia..._

 _"_ Don't be absurd!" Redleaf began again loudly. "How could _this_ sparrowman possibly--"

"I'll handle it, Minister," Queen Clarion interrupted once again. "Vidia, dear, listen to me. I am grateful that you are trying to help in this matter, but if you just paused for a moment to think...dust has been going missing from our tree long _before_ Phineas arrived. He can't be the one behind this."

Vidia's face went from triumphant to sour in less time than it took to blink. "But, I...he...he flew _so fast,_ Queen Clarion! Faster than _me!_ No fairy is faster than me!"

"Aren't you being a little presumptuous?" Hyacinth muttered behind a fake cough.

This time, the queen ignored him. "Phineas," she said gently. "It's all right to stand up now."

The sparrowman scrambled to his feet, embarrassed. He glanced from the Queen, to the Ministers, to Vidia, and then down to his feet, too afraid to look at any of them, lest they guess his secret immediately.

"Now," Clarion went on. "Vidia, I will discuss this with you later. I believe you may still be a help to us in catching the real thief. And Ministers, if you would be so kind, I would like a word with young Phineas here for a moment." 

They looked surprised, but quickly went to obey.

Vidia was the last one out, her brain shooting nasty thoughts about the sparrowman and why he was getting all of the attention that she wanted, no, that she _deserved_. 

_I'm the only one who's important around here,_ her mind spat. _I'm the fastest fairy in all of Pixie Hollow! Did that sorry excuse for a tinker outrun me? No! Why is he getting special treatment from the queen?_

 _If she knew what I really was, would she think differently of me?_ Phineas shuddered at the thought. He didn't want everyone knowing what his talent really was. _They would be furious at me_ _for_ _lying._

 _And then I would_ _truly_ _be friendless._

"I'm...I'm sorry, Queen Clarion," he blurted before she could even begin to scold him. "I know I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let her follow me, and I shouldn't have used my powers fer such a trifle matter, but--"

"Phineas," the queen interjected. "It's all right. Please, I'm not here to scold you. Merely to inquire how you've been settling in."

"Oh." He paused. "I see."

"Fairy Mary says you have potential," Clarion coaxed. "She has taken a liking to you. She cares, and that's not something she grants to a lot of her workers."

Phineas blinked. She had? Why on earth would Fairy Mary do that? Did she see something in him? Did she know something was off? What did she suspect? "Does...does she know?" he squeaked out, his voice wavering. 

"That you're the Protector? No, I don't believe so. However, she _is_ concerned about you. As you know, it is my duty to make sure that every fairy finds their belonging and feels content with their work, and it's come to my attention that you...to put it as mildly as I can...are a bit of an outcast among your guild."

Phineas winced.

"Now, you've been here for several days," the Queen went on, pretending not to notice. "But yet, Mary reports that you'd rather work by yourself in the shop instead of mingling with the other tinkers. Now, I understand that you're predicament is a little...unusual...but I was just wondering--"

"Ya want to know if I have made any friends," Phineas interrupted, already hearing it in her thoughts. 

"Yes."

"I _have,_ " he said quickly. "I have friends. Rosetta, and Fawn, and Silvermist, and I was workin' on becomin' friends with Iridessa, until Vidia grabbed me." He smiled ruefully.

"I see," Clarion nodded. "All good fairies. A wise choice, and if I may, quite daring." _And no one from his own guild,_ she noticed. _Fairy Mary was right. He's a loner. That can be dangerous._

"Your Majesty?" he said, confused.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just...I don't think you could have picked a more inquisitive bunch of fairies. All buzzing about with the curiosity of tinkers themselves."

"You're afraid one of them might figure it out?"

"That is a possibility," the Queen admitted. "But one that I fear cannot be avoided, not if you are to continue to be friends with them."

"Are you givin' me permission to tell them the truth?"

"No," the Queen said. "I am just preparing you for what will most likely happen at some point. They _will_ riddle it out. I don't know how, or when. But I know they will."

 _And then what will happen?_ her mind fretted. _If others can figure it out, how long will it be before he does?_

 _Who?_ Phineas frowned. _Who is the Queen talking about?_

"I'll be careful," he assured her. "They won't find out. I promise."

"I'm afraid that's a promise even you can't keep," the queen sighed deeply. _They sound so similar. I can see a lot of him in Phineas. And what I see frightens me. Phineas doesn't yet fully understand what it means to be the Protector, and I'm afraid that, when he does,_ _the pressure will break him._

Phin ignored this the best that he could, but still felt shivers dance up his spine. The Queen knew something about his talent. Something dangerous. But she wasn't telling him. Why? For his own protection?

"Who are you thinking about?" he blurted, and then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, realizing what he'd said. _Spinters! I didn't want her to know_ _about_ _that yet!_

Clarion looked confused. "I don't know what you mean."

 _Can he_ _hear_ _my thoughts? Does he know? How much does he suspect?_ _Oh_ _, Milori, it's just_ _as_ _you warned me. He has Shade's power, and he's slowly drifting toward the dark._

"Who's Shade?" he demanded. "Does he know what's goin' on? Can _he_ help me?" _And who is Milori?_ he wanted to add.

"Phineas... forgive me, but, can you..."

"Read your mind?" he interrupted. "Aye. And that frightens ya. Why?"

 _It's very intrusive and ungentlemanly of you,_ the Queen thought as hard as she could, catching Phineas by surprise. _Not to mention, fairies don't usually go around sifting through each other's heads._ "Because you are not the first Protector to be able to do so," she admitted slowly. "There was another. A long time ago. But he chose the wrong path, a path of darkness. A destiny I sincerely hope you can avoid. But, Phineas, how long have you been able to do this?"

"Since my arrival," he confessed. "It was one of the very first things I could do."

"I see," Clarion said slowly. "And have you discovered any of your other talents?"

"I have. I can...bend water. Kinda." He rubbed his head sheepishly, thinking of how close he'd come to revealing himself when he was at the stream with the girls. "It's...more of a workin' progress."

"All right," the queen said. "And I expect that means you aren't practicing?"

"No," he admitted. "But that's because I don't want ta risk bein' caught. And there always seems to be someone around, ya know."

"I do."

"I'll practice more," he promised.

"Thank you," Clarion said gently. "Remember..."

"I know," he interjected with a sigh. "Don't let anyone find out."

"Right," the queen nodded. "Oh, and Phineas?"

"Aye, Your Majesty?"

"Don't ever read my mind again."

"Aye, Queen Clarion," he said with a small blush. "I won't."

"Very well." She folded her hands and gave him a small smile. "Well, then, I think you should be getting back to Tinkers Nook. It will be morning soon, and I'm sure you'll want to get some sleep."

Phineas hesitated, but then nodded. He _was_ tired. The nightmare had finally faded, only to be replaced with exhaustion. "Good night, Your Majesty," he said, turning and taking off.

"Good night, Phineas," came the queen's reply. 

With that, he darted out of the tree and started back toward the nook. The stars twinkled in the heavens, and in the distance, the moonlight shimmered across winter, making everything seem illuminated in blue. He paused to watch a cloud pass across the moon, sending streaks of black running along the mountains. 

And that gave him an idea.

Maybe he could get some answers over there. 

"Hey! There he is!" someone shouted, and the next moment, he was surrounded by the girls, all talking amongst themselves and all inquiring what had happened and if he was okay.

"What happened?"

"Where's Vidia?"

"Was Queen Clarion _mad_?"

"Lassies, hold on," he pleaded, feeling rather overwhelmed with all of the questions. "One at a time, please. Vidia's gone. She flew off after getting a good scoldin' from the queen. Alon' those lines, she _was_ mad, but not at me."

"What did she do when you showed up?" Silvermist inquired nervously.

"She asked me how I was settlin' in and if I'd made any friends," Phin explained. "Just normal stuff." 

"The _queen_ asked you that?" Fawn gasped, sharing a glance with the others. "That _hardly_ seems normal."

"Not to be rude or anythin'," Rosetta cut in. "But why has she taken such a likin' to _you?_ "

"I...I don't know." The lie tasted awful and he was just barely able to force it out. 

"Hmmm," Fawn seemed curious now. "So, what now? Do you wanna go back and see the fireflies again? I'm sure Iridessa wouldn't mind."

But he was shaking his head. "Thank ya, but no. I think I outta be gettin' back to the Nook."

"All right," Silvermist said. "But do come visit us again soon, all right? Oh, and there's the yearly winter ball coming up, so that should be fun!"

"We should go too," Fawn added. "It's getting late. Well...early I guess. We have to work tomorrow. Remember? We're helping the animals migrate to winter."

"Oh, right!" Silvermist nodded excitedly. "See you later, Phin!" 

They waved and left, leaving Phineas hovering alone near the back of the Pixie dust tree. He took a deep breath and took in the silence gratefully. 

And then it hit him.

_Winter Ball?_


	7. Winterborn

The next morning found Phineas sound asleep at his worktable, head resting on his hand and hair as much of a disaster as normal. It was almost as if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all the previous night.

Safe to say, Fairy Mary was far from pleased. 

So, everyone in the Nook was awoken to the extremely unpleasant sounds of the head of their guild chewing out their youngest worker. And while several found it highly amusing to see the scrawny red-head cower, Fairy Mary would not permit them to stand around cackling. 

"Get back to work," she snapped, sending them fleeing. "This isn't a theatre production, for pity's sake." 

"I'm sorry, Fairy Mary," Phineas apologized, hanging his head. "It's my own fault I'm so tired. I should 'ave known better than to stay out late. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Phineas," Mary sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder, her voice immediately softening. "Don't get me wrong, you're a _fine_ worker, but you seem...a little distracted. Has there been something on your mind? Maybe talking to someone would help."

He wanted to. _So badly._ He wanted to just break down, confess everything right then and there, and take the shame and the silence. He didn't want to keep lying to her, and to his friends. But he steeled his heart and answered as firmly as he could. "No, I'm all right. I just...haven't been sleepin' well." Every word felt like a dagger to the chest, and he could hear his voice faltering. 

It didn't help that he could feel the underlying guilt at being called one of Fairy Mary's favorite charges. He was a terrible, _terrible_ fairy. She trusted him, and he lied to her. Constantly.

 _There's something else,_ came her mind. _I can tell. I just wish_ _I_ _knew what was_ _troubling_ _him. Queen Clarion_ _said_ _he was shy. I've_ _taught_ _shy fairies before. Phineas isn't like the others. This is_ _something_ _different. It's_ _almost_ _as if he's_ _afraid_ _of something._

Then, an image of the girls came to mind, and a sense of suspicion crashed through her head. How they had always seemed to be sticking their noses into places they didn't belong, causing ruckuses wherever they went.

 _Or_ up _to something._

"Well, I'm afraid forgetting to get an adequate night's sleep does not excuse you from your workload," she said with a small sigh. "But, fortunately, with the last of the winter preparations being nearly completed, I don't think there is very much you can do around here. So, I am going to send you on deliveries with Lucinda."

 _Delieveries?_ Phineas perked up instantly. He'd never been on a delievery before. And then he recalled the girls mentioning helping the baby animals migrate to Winter. Maybe he would get lucky and spot them while he was out. He couldn't help, but smile at the thought.

 _Oh, dear,_ Fairy Mary puzzled, noticing his grin. _I fear I may have just created a monster._ "Well, all right," she said carefully. "You should get at it then. You'll find Lucinda waiting at the mice stable. She's already loaded the wagon and is waiting."

"Great! Bye, Fairy Mary!" Phineas took off with a new-found energy.

Mary watched him go and then turned to mutter something and check a box off on her leaf scroll.

A minute late, Phin realized he'd forgotton something and sped back. "Um...where's the mouse stable?"

She sighed again. "Two streets down and to your left." She pointed with her pencil.

"Thank ya! Bye!"

He found Lucinda exactly where Fairy Mary had said she would be, fluttering around a large cart filled to the brim with all sorts of gadgets that Phineas had seen about the Nook for days. It was tied down, and on the front of the cart was some kind of furry creature he'd never seen before.

" _Finally_!" Lucinda exclaimed as he landed and cautiously walked toward the animal. "I was beginning to wonder if Fairy Mary had forgotten about me!"

"Er...no," Phineas said quietly, noticing the way the blond female was glaring at him. She was clearly not pleased that he was late, and he didn't think it would be wise to mention that he'd managed to get lost twice. 

He could practically hear what Fairy Mary would say. _Two streets down and to the left. Good heavens, how hard could that be? Honestly!_

"Sorry," he added, wincing as the creature twisted to face him with curious brown eyes. 

Lucinda crossed her arms as he rounded the cart to stand before her. "First delivery?" she guessed, arching an eyebrow.

"Aye."

"Just my luck. Well, I suppose it would be worse. I could have been assigned Wedge." She gave him a easing smile, and went to adjust the reigns on the animal. "I guess you haven't seen a mouse before, then, have you?" she went on without looking at him. "Cheese, this is Phineas. Phineas, say hello to Cheese."

The mouse twitched its nose and dipped its head to him.

"Cheese?" Phin echoed, frowning.

"Don't ask," Lucinda replied, brushing her long hair out of her eyes and hoisting herself up. "It's a _really long_ story." 

"Okay...?"

"Hop on," the tinker went on, gesturing for him to come join her. "I'll teach you as we go."

He obeyed. Lucinda snapped the reigns and they were off.

"So, how long have you been here now, if you don't mind me asking?" Lucinda inquired.

"'bout three days," Phineas answered shyly. 

"Huh. Strange. I haven't seen you before."

"I prefer to work alone," he admitted, looking down at his hands. "And I don't think anyone really wants to work with me anyway."

She glanced at him. "And why do you say that?"

He shrugged. "I just seem to mess everythin' up," he said. "I'm clumsy, and I can't focus on anythin' for more than a short time. Fairy Mary has to constantly hover just to make sure I don't ruin anythin'." 

_I wouldn't be so accident prone if I wasn't trying to hide who I really am,_ he thought rebelliously. _If Queen Clarion hadn't made me promise to--_ He immediately cut that train of thought short. He couldn't blame the Queen. She had her reasons. She _had_ to. And they were to keep him safe. She had told him that. And since she seemed to be the only one that knew anything about his talent, he supposed he was going to have to trust her.

_But, I still want to know who Shade is._

He'd heard there was a library somewhere. Mostly through sitting with the girls at dinner, listening to both their conversations and their minds and overhearing that there hadn't been a reading-talent fairy in over five years. Apparently, the library had fallen into quite a disarray.

_Maybe I can look around a little later. If there's any information on Protectors, it sounds like it would be there._

"I'm sure that's not true."

Phineas blinked, startled, and then realized what Lucinda had been talking about. She was watching him worriedly, and he could sense her concern, which only made him stare at his shoes harder.

"She sees a lot of potential in you, kid," Lucinda went on. "And between you and me, I think she is hoping you might take over one day."

Phineas nearly fell off the wagon. 

_Me? Take charge of the Nook? Of the entire_ guild _?_ He felt sick. 

"Whoa, hey, you all right? You look pale."

He _wasn't_ all right. He didn't _want_ to be the leader of the guild. It seemed the little white lie was digging him further and further into his grave, derailing so quickly that he couldn't stop it. How long would it be before Fairy Mary noticed that he wasn't being entirely truthful with her? What would she do then? Kick him out seemed extremely plausible to him. Banishment? He shuddered _. Surely_ the queen wouldn't allow _that_...right?

"Hang on, Cheese. I think Phineas is cart-sick."

The mouse skidded to a halt, twisting back expectantly as Phineas clenched his hands and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing, the gentle morning crickets in the tall grass, _anything_ except the knawing feeling of guilt growing inside of him. 

"Hey, try deep breaths," Lucinda suggested. 

Phineas nodded, continuing to look away. He wouldn't meet her gaze. He couldn't, for fear that he'd spill everything to her. 

"I have to admit, I've never met any fairy who couldn't stomach this kind of work," the blond went on, ignoring his frantic inhales and exhales. "It's unusual. But, I gather you've already worked that out for yourself. Oh well, we're almost to Springtime Square. I suppose we can start our deliveries there." She frowned, reading over her checklist, and then double-checking it. "The dust depot is just ahead. Do you think you can make it there and then stay with Cheese while I make the delivery?" 

Phineas nodded, so Lucinda once more started the cart and he sat there, listening to her worried thoughts all the way the square. And there he got his first look at the dust depot, home of the Dust-talent fairies, a cobblestone mill with fairies darting in and out and all about, carrying large satchels of pixie dust.

"Right," Lucinda said, heaving a bag over her shoulders and getting off the cart. "I'll only be a moment, so don't wander too far, okay?"

"Aye, ma'am," he replied, sliding down and coming around slowly to the front of the cart to cautiously put his hand on Cheese's side. He waited until Lucinda was far out of earshot before he let out a sigh of releif and nearly collapsed against the mouse. "That was... _too_ close."

Cheese gave him a withering look, folding back his ears and nudging Phineas's hands pointedly.

Phineas froze. "Can ya... _understand_ me?"

Cheese nodded. He looked as confused as the fairy, but shook his head. The action was obvious. _You should tell your guild mate._

"I can't help it," Phineas protested. "And I _can't_ tell anyone. They wouldn't believe me, and even if they _did,_ what would they think of me?" He looked down. "I'm scared, Cheese. There are only two options, and both end terribly. Tell the truth and be hated the rest of my life, or go on hidin' it and risk someone findin' out on their own."

 _You should at_ _least_ _tell_ someone.

"You're right," Phineas whispered, shivering. "And I will. I promise. The next time I see the girls, I'll tell 'em the truth. All of it." He ignored the way his mind was repeating Queen Clarion's warning. _They gave me their friendship. They are honest with me. I need to be honest with them._

Satisfied, Cheese turned away from him and settled back to watch fairies dart in the heavens above. Phineas waited with him until Lucinda returned with her bag empty.

"Feeling better?" she inquired, hopping back into the wagon.

"Aye, thank ya." Phineas hurried up to her and started to climb on.

"Hold on," Lucinda requested, holding up a hand to stop him. She reached into the back to pull out a small satchel of things. "These need to go to Autumn. The Garden talents are there today. Do me a favor and take them there. That way I can go on to Summer and drop off the rainbow wands."

"Er...okay." He slowly took the bag and slung it over his shoulders. "But how do I..."

"Just give it to the first fairy you see," Lucinda explained. "It's really quite easy." Then, with one last smile, she snapped the regins and she was off.

Phineas watched her go. He took a deep breath and turned to fly the other way. Autumn was only a short distance away and he found himself over the red and orange trees in a matter of minutes. The glow of Pixie dust was easy to spot near the center of the forest. He cautiously landed in a tree behind a group of Garden talents hard at work. He watched them paint leaves and mix colors to create all different shades of the same red.

 _I could do that._ He felt the urge to try, but ignored it. He wasn't supposed to be a garden fairy. He was supposed to be a tinker. Tinkers did not paint.

Standing up, he adjusted his bag and, bringing his fingers to his lips, let out one shrill whistle. Immediately, everyone spun to face him.

"Hey, look everyone!" a sparrowman called. "A tinker in a tree! What do you think you are, kid? A _bird_?"

A few fairies chuckled, and Phineas could feel his face heating up.

"Oh, leave him alone, Robin," came a second voice and Phineas jumped as a fairy in a red dress landed next to him. "Hi there," she went on with a grin. "You're new. I can tell. Welcome to the Autumn Woods. I'm Aster. That troll over there is Robin. Just ignore his jabs. He doesn't mean it."

Phineas nodded. "Nice to meet ya. I...brought ya some things." He took off the bag and opened it, aware of Aster leaning over his shoulder to see.

"New paintbrushes!" she squealed happily, pulling them out and examining them closely. "Yes! Finally! Thank you!"

Phineas smiled. "You're welcome, lassie. Say, um, is Rosetta here?"

Aster glanced up, looking thoughtful. "Oh! Yes! She's that way, helping Fawn and Buck with an out of control rabbit, I believe. You can leave these things with me if you'd like and come back and get them when you are ready."

 _Hmmm. He's an unusual one. I_ _really_ _wish Robin hadn't been so rude,_ _because_ _now_ _he seems a_ _little_ _put out._

He nodded. "I'll do that. Thanks."

Aster smiled. "No problem."

With one last glance at the working fairies, Phineas took off once more, flying in the direction Aster had pointed. He scanned the ground, looking for his friends, disappointed when he did not find them right away.

He flew a little further, feeling the temperature progressively dropping the further he went from the garden talents.

It wasn't long before he saw why.

A short distance ahead, the forest suddenly dropped away to a deep gorge and a raging river. A fallen tree crossed this dropoff. And on the far side, the landscape was pure white.

_That must be the Winter Woods._

He paused to look around. Rosetta and Fawn were nowhere to be found, and something was calling him toward the border. He didn't know what, but his heart thudded painfully in his chest as he took a small step forward. And then another. His wings shivered as he reached the point in the log where it turned icy.

Cautiously he stuck a foot out, touching the white substance warily. _Snow,_ something in his brain told him. And it was _cold_.

His hands throbbed and he lifted them anxiously to see a faint silver glow in his fingertips. He had _no idea_ what it meant, but he hadn't fallen over dead yet, so that was good.

He slowly moved forward until he was standing with both feet in the snow, fully enveloped in Winter, Autumn far beyond him. The powder was falling from the heavens and he looked up in amazement.

A cold burst of wind sent him shivering, but he didn't retreat. There was far too much to see. The trees were all bare and the few plants that remained looked the same. In the distance, sharp peaks rose above a frosted forest.

It was beautiful. He didn't understand why it would be forbidden.

Another blast of cold air. This time, he felt his wings throb. Surprised, he adjusted his goggles curiously and prepared to journey further into the unusual season.

"PHINEAS!"

A shriek of horror. Multiple wingbeats behind him. Before he had time to turn and face the familiar fairies, someone had seized him from behind and had forcibly yanked him back across the border. He landed on top of the fairy, and he hastily staggered up to let Rosetta stand. The garden talent was red in the face, and her look was murderous.

Phineas suddenly felt a thousand times smaller.

"WHAT were you THINKING?" Rosetta snapped, putting her hands on her hips to glare up at him. "Warm fairies _don't cross_ the border! It's _forbidden!"_

He cringed back, his eyes flicking from Rosetta to Fawn and back again. "I...I just thought..."

"You _didn't_ think," Fawn interrupted. He'd never seen her so angry. "I _told_ you, Phin. I _said_ it was too dangerous!"

He hung his head. "I know," he mumbled. "I'm sorry. And I'm grateful ya came after me. Both of ya."

The girl's expressions softened slightly and they looked at one another and Fawn's thoughts broke through.

 _I can't stay mad at him. He's obviously_ _apologetic_ _. But he should know the dangers, especially if he is going to wander off alone. He's only been_ _here_ _three days after all._

 _And those puppy eyes though..._ _I_ _don't think anyone_ _can_ _stay_ _mad at him. It must be his secret weapon._

He couldn't meet her gaze, and stared at the ground instead.

In the distance, a faint laugh could be heard. Both Fawn and Rosetta looked up immediately as a golden flash of light sped overhead.

"Winter," the girls said together.

"Uh...what?" Phineas blinked.

"A new fairy has just been born," Rosetta explained, pointing off in the distance. "And he or she will be a cold fairy."

"Wait...there are _fairies_ over there?"

"Of course," Fawn said in a tone of _naturally._

"There are fairies in _every_ season," Rosetta added.

"Here," Fawn said, pulling a large leaf from a nearby tree and wrapping it around his wings. "We should go. Put that on and let's get you back to the Nook before someone sees us."


	8. Adding One More

Three months had passed since Phineas' incident at the border. It had long been put behind them, and the girls scarcely brought the topic up, and on the odd chance that they did, it was usually by accident, and they never mentioned his breaking of the rules. But the urge did not leave him completely, and at night, he would sit on his front stoop and stare off at the distant peaks, mulling over what had happened and what the strange light had been.

And it was a clear night, just like that one when something unusual happened.

Now, having been part of the Pixie Hollow Community (as Fawn liked to call it), he had heard of several new arrivals at the Pixie dust tree, but he'd always been so far behind on his work that he'd never gotten a chance to attend.

This time, it was different.

Even as the laugh filled the hollow, Phineas was already on his feet. As he looked around for a source of the laugh, he heard several of the other tinkers stick their heads out of their houses and murmur something he didn't quite catch. But there was one thing he knew for sure, they hadn't reacted like this to any of the _other_ arrivals.

_Maybe that means this one will be a tinker!_ He felt a swell of pride at the thought. Several of the other talents had been fortunate to receive new hands. According to Iridessa, there had been two new arrivals for Winter--a frost fairy named Spike, and a glacier-talent named Sled, along with a new animal sparrowman (much to Fawn's delight) called Buck, and a storm talent named Zap. There had yet to be another tinker arrival, and Phin was _more_ than excited at the possibility of being able to attend.

The streak of gold flashed overhead moments later, and Phineas took to the air, heart thumping excitedly as he saw several other members of the guild to the same. He flew quickly to the tree, forcing himself to travel slow enough that he would not seem out of place, even going so far as to let some of the others pass him.

He arrived at the tree before the new fairy, and landing, quickly picked his friends out of the crowds. Iridessa was already sitting on a ledge with her talent, and Fawn and Silvermist were saying their goodbyes. Even without meaning to, Phineas felt himself shifting toward them and away from his own talent.

"Whoa!" Rosetta caught him by the arm and swung him around to face her. "And where are _you_ going, mister? Your talent is _over_ _there_."

Phineas felt his heart sink. "I have to stand with 'em?"

"'Fraid so," Rosetta replied. "But it's only for a couple of minutes. You'll be _fine."_ She gave him a smile and he sighed, knowing he was defeated.

Several snickers came his way as he shuffled back toward the other tinkers, most echoing from an overgrown fungus where a group of gossipy females had gotten together to whisper amongst themselves. Phin heard them mutter something about him 'preferring to stand with another talent' and how he was such a weirdo and 'why didn't he act like all the other tinkers?'.

He ignored them, sitting quietly on a root near the base of the ring, folding up his legs and wrapping his arms around his knees, waiting.

And then, out of nowhere, golden light flooded the tree. Several fairies gasped and drew back, whispering excitedly to one another. Phineas continued to sit quietly, noticing how the others had managed to inch away from him, leaving him alone once more. He brushed it off, not caring what they thought of him.

A dust-talent Phineas didn't recognize stepped forward to pour the Pixie dust. The golden light faded, revealing a sparrowman dressed from head to toe in white. He looked around, brown eyes shimmering in confusion, but that quickly faded as he gave the watching fairies a friendly smile. He had longish dark hair and was larger than Phin. The red-head glanced toward his friends and _swore_ he saw a flash of an unreadable expression cross Silvermist's face.

"The queen!" someone called, and everyone looked skyward as Queen Clarion appeared. "Well, hello," she said, giving the new sparrowman a smile. "Welcome to Pixie Hollow. I trust you found your way all right?"

The sparrowman paused. "I...guess so." He chuckled.

The toadstools rose from the innards of the tree and Phin caught himself remembering _his_ arrival ceremony. Now he was about to see what one was _supposed_ to be like.

"Step forward and find your talent," the queen said, waving a hand to gesture to the mushrooms.

_Please be a tinker, please be a tinker,_ Phineas pleaded quietly. He tried to reach into this fairy's mind but only received a blackened hum. Confused, he frowned, watching as the sparrowman attempted water-talent and failed, much to Sil's disappointment, and moved on to storm. How could a fairy not have _any_ thoughts? Or, better yet, how could they _keep_ them from him? What kind of strength did this fairy posses that--

A collective gasp rushed through the crowd as the fairy eagerly grabbed the hammer and it sparkled and crackled with light. All around him, Phin heard cheers and whoops, but he could not process why. It was only when the queen spoke again that he understood.

"Fairies and sparrowmen, it seems we have a craftsman in our midst. Tinkers, come forward and meet your newest member, Clank."

What happened next was all a blur. One moment, Phineas was standing alone, the next, every tinker barreled past him, all welcoming and greeting the sparrowman, some shaking his hands and others thumping him on the back.

Phineas began to creep away, filing out of the tree along with the other fairies, his wings drooping. Sure, he hadn't been expecting anything _extraordinary._ He'd supposed this new fairy's ceremony would be similar to his own, but there was one thing he'd noticed that stung _. The way the fairies had gathered around, excited and friendly._ Why hadn't they been like that at his? He didn't want to be jealous and he especially did not want to judge a guildmate that he'd yet to meet, but he couldn't hold back the bubbling anger. His hands clenched into fists as he reached the end of the branches and prepared to take off.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He turned, finding Silvermist there, her concerned brown eyes boring deep into his blue. He immediately dropped his eyes, refusing to let her see his true self. His _hateful_ self. He took a shaky breath and blinked away hot tears.

Sil tilted her head and opened her mouth to say something, but the frantic flurry of wingbeats interrupted her. She turned and Phineas dared a glance upwards as Fawn and Iridessa landed beside him, and, before he could offer up an excuse for his temper, Fawn had already wrapped her arms around him in a tight squeeze. He immediately relaxed. The girls couldn't have known what he was thinking, or how _afraid_ he was, but they had instantly realized he was depressed and had reacted accordingly.

He _would_ be okay. He would. He could keep his temper hidden around the others, and he _would_ keep the truth hidden. There was no reason to be jealous of Clank. Besides, Phineas was a loner. All of Tinker's Nook knew that. They would react accordingly and he'd probably never have to meet the sparrowman anyway.

_So_ , he told himself firmly as Iridessa and Silvermist joined the hug. _There is absolutely nothing to be worried about._

That was a lie.

It would be two days later before Phineas would be confronted with the new tinker, and the moment found him as unprepared as ever.

Fairy Mary, picking up on his recent gloomy mood, had decided he'd been cooped up in the Nook long enough and boredom was what ailed him, and told him a bought of fresh air was _exactly_ what he needed. She ignored his weak protests as she practically threw him out, telling him that he'd done enough work for all the tinkers for a week and ordering him to take a walk around the hollow.

"It might be good for you," she'd said. "You _have_ been looking rather peakish recently. Can't have my best worker collapsing in the middle of the day, can I?"

And Phineas, who mentally wanted to laugh, could only muster a weak nod and a forced smile. _Best worker. Right._ But he did as he was told, and it was that fateful, quiet, and overly sunny da that he would run smack into the one fairy he wanted to avoid.

He was walking peacefully among the taller grass, humming something he'd picked up from the girls on their recent trip to the mainland. _Yankee Doodle_ , he believed it was called. An absolutely preposterous song who's lyrics made _no_ sense but were still fun to hum to. Iridessa had also mentioned that they'd run across a place where the humans sounded an awful lot like him. _Scotland_ , they'd called it. He smiled as he ran a hand over a blade of grass, just picturing it. Dessa had described it as a land of rolling hills and pastures and these _big white things_ Fawn said were called sheep.

It sounded beautiful, and he wished, not for the first time, that he could leave the Hollow behind, go out, explore the world, and see what else was out there. But no, he sighed and shook the notion away. He was stuck here, with powers he could not explain, and a purpose he knew even _less_ about.

He exhaled again. No one was around. He'd made sure of that. Carefully he made his way to the edge of Havendish Stream and knelt down beside the water's edge. The tadpoles weren't around, which was all the better. The queen had told him to practice. He couldn't do that if someone were hovering or risked seeing him and what he was doing.

Taking a deep breath and reaching for his powers, he summoned the water from the stream. It immediately swirled to attention, breaking from the earth and spiraling around his hands. He concentrated on holding it there steadily.

He decided he needed a target. There was a tree a few yards away. It looked perfect. Biting his lip, he turned, the water dragging sluggishly with him. He closed his eyes, focusing on tossing the wave of water at his selected target. He readied, aimed...

...and then stopped as hurried wingbeats raced toward him.

"BOBBLE!"

Panicked, he dropped the water. It burst like a lead balloon and soaked the ground around his feet, but he didn't care, feigning a fake innocent expression as he caught sight of the fairy who had yelled.

Of course, it was Vidia.

The fast-flyer hardly gave him a second glance as she zipped around him, weaving amongst the leaves frantically as though searching for something.

"Can I help ya, Vidia?" he asked, forcing his tone to remain calm and ignoring that she'd once again called him by the wrong name.

"Your dumb guildmate lost control of his cart back in Sunflower Meadow," Vidia snapped as she continued looking. "One of the mice escaped. I thought it might have come this way."

Phineas gritted his teeth, watching the purple-clad fairy as she darted in and out of the weeds. He may not have agreed with her, but in this case, she was right. If a mouse _had_ escaped, then it would be wrong of him not to try and help.

So, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and listened. He listened for the tiny paw steps and the rapid thumping of a heart.

"Um...when I said 'mouse' and 'escape', I _had_ anticipated you would at least _pretend_ like you were going to help me, Bobble, not take an impromptu nap."

Phineas growled, opening his eyes. " _Why_ do you keep callin' me that? It's not my name!"

"Simple." Vidia's eyes narrowed, and, almost faster than Phineas could track, she zipped up to him, forcing him to lean back to avoid touching noses. "I don't care _what_ Queen Clarion _says_ you are. I have watched you and you are _not_ a tinker. You don't _look_ like one, you don't _act_ like one, and I saw the way you watched the others' talents, so, why don't we start over from the beginning?" She stepped back and folded her arms pointedly. "Who are you _really_ , and what are you doing here?"

Phineas gasped, his mouth moving but no words coming out. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't tell her the truth. She'd blurt to the rest of the hollow and he'd be forever shunned and Queen Clarion would be so disappointed in him and his friends would hate him...

_Lie! Lie you stupid bucket! Say something! Quickly! Think!_

"I...I..." His mind went entirely blank. He couldn't speak, he couldn't even _think_.

Thankfully, the sound of another approaching fairy drew Vidia's attention...and her scowl...away from him. "Oh," she sighed, sounding mildly bored. " _There_ you are." _I was starting to think you'd managed to get yourself lost. Again._

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Vidia," came Clank's voice from above the meadow. "I searched high and low and there's no sign o' Cheddar anywhere!"

Phineas stiffined as the new tinker came into view and desperately searched for somewhere to hide.

Unfortunately, Clank's eyesight was far superior to his.

"Oh, hello!" he called cheerily, waving as he landed a few feet away and Vidia, with an eyeroll, followed. "I don't think we've met. You're a tinker too, aren't you? My name's Clank." He stuck out his hand cordially.

"Hello," Phineas replied reluctantly. "My name's--"

"Bobble!" Vidia interrupted sharply, giving him a pointed look. "The _mouse_?"

He ignored her.

Clank grinned. "Well, nice to meet you, Bobble!"

"Oh, that's not my..." Phineas deadpanned, wondering if the creek was deep enough throw himself in. "I mean, I'm P-phineas. Phineas T. Kettletree. Nice to--"

Vidia coughed loudly and both tinkers looked toward her with almost identical frowns. "Sorry to interrupt, but, escapee rodent? _Remember_?"

Clank smiled sheepishly and dropped his hand to twist back toward the fast-flyer.

Phineas sighed. "All right, which way was it headed?" He inhaled and tried to listen once more to his surroundings. In the far distance, he could hear the faintest trace of a heartbeat. Chedder wasn't far, just across the meadow near Autumn.

"I don't know," Vidia grunted. "East?" _He knows. Somehow, he already knows where the mouse is. So why is he pretending he doesn't?_

Phin swallowed hard and trained his gaze anywhere but at the purple clad female. "All--all right," he said, trying to force the fear from his words. "We...w-we should...split up. Aye. Um...so...Clank, why don't ya go check back where ya lost the cart? The mice tend to come back when they get bored."

Clank nodded and took off.

"Go south," Phineas continued, directing his words to Vidia who still looked disbelieving. "Ya can cover ground more quickly than me. Then, once you've finished that, go north. I'll go east."

"No, I think I'd better stay with you," Vidia argued. "Just in case you get any more _grand ideas_."

For a moment, he panicked. Did she know about the Winter Woods? How? Did one of the others accidently let it slip? _She knows. She knows. Oh, pixie dust, she knows!_ She already suspected he was lying to her. What would she do with this new piece of information?

"O-okay," he said weakly. "S-sure. This way."

And then, without waiting for her to respond, he turned and flew off at full speed, sending several blades of grass dancing away. With a shout of surprise, Vidia took off after him. He ignored her hasty wingbeats and her obvious confusion about his speed. Fortunately, she was no longer accusing him of of stealing pixie dust, so that was at least a start.

They flew in silence for a bit, both making a point not to look in the direction of the other. Below, the meadow thinned out and then disappeared completely. The orange and gold leaves of fall became more and more abundant along with traces of Pixie dust, a sure sign that others were in the area.

"Why do ya hate me?"

Phin startled, hearing the words erupt from his mouth before he could stop them. He caught a flash of surprise from Vidia, but the fast-flying talent didn't look over.

"I don't like mysteries," she replied gruffly. "I don't like how they work and I don't like trying to riddle them out. You are _quite_ a mystery, Bobble. And you're...frightening."

"You're _afraid_ of me," Phineas realized. "Because ya can't understand why I am different than the other tinkers. Ya like knowing how everythin' works, but when ya can't, ya don't know how to react."

Vidia sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Just to me," he said. "Sil says I have an extraordinary level of empathy." He gave her a small smile. _Not to mention the_ _ability_ _to read minds._

She didn't return it, but she didn't scowl either. She looked like she wanted to say something, but a flash of fur in the bushes caught her eye. "There! _Look!"_

Phineas followed her point, spotting the mouse scurrying through the weeds. "Well, that was easy."

"We haven't caught him yet," Vidia reminded him. "Don't count your robins before they hatch. Come on." With that, she spiraled into a dive, disappearing into the trees.

Phin hurried after her, weaving through the narrow branches and trailing Cheddar as the dark brown rodent scrambled, squeaking fearfully.

"Wait!" he yelled, dodging an unusually large branch. "Cheddar! Whoa! Stop!"

The mouse ignored him. He was obviously terrified of something. But what? There was nothing out here!

Vidia shot ahead into the weeds to try and cut the rodent off and Phineas was alone. Immediately, he skidded to a halt and tried to connect with the rodent's emotion. _Terror._ It boiled through his veins, almost as though it was his own. He didn't understand. What was Cheddar so afraid of? There was nothing there! There was no reason to--

A furious scream flooded the heavens. A terrible, horrible noise that could only belong to one thing...

...a hawk.


	9. Taking Flight

"HAWKKKKK!" he shrieked, abandoning the chase and spiraling downwards into the overgrowth. Ahead, he could hear Chedder's heart racing almost as rapidly as his own. The shadow grew darker as the hawk, spotting movement, circled back and began coming closer.

Phineas dove for cover within a large fern, trying to ease his thumping heart and the painfully bright glow from his wings. If there was one thing the ferocious beast _would_ see, it would be a bright glowing fairy, perfect for an afternoon snack.

Getting eaten by a bird was _extremely_ low on his to-do list. Right down there with _get discovered_ and _tell everyone the truth._ The hawk could eat him _then,_ once everyone hated him,but not yet. For now, he needed to stay low, stay hidden, and stay alive.

The hawk circled closer, screeching a terrible call, most likely to its friends to come and help, like _tasty_ _mouse_ _and_ _fairy_ _over here! Come get it!_

Where _was_ Cheddar anyway?

Realizing the mouse wasn't near him, he cautiously peered around the end of the fern. When he could see nothing, he dared a whisper. " _Cheddar? Are ya there?"_

There was no response from the mouse.

Desperately, he scanned the trees for signs of Vidia. The fast-flyer had been right behind him. _Surely_ she had seen the hawk, right? She was probably on her way to get help now as he thought. So where did that leave him? Cowering in the shadows, waiting to be rescued while there were fairies out there, putting themselves in danger for his sake.

_Some Protector I am._

And that was when the thought came to him. _I am_ the _Protector. I am supposed to be keeping everyone safe, not hiding, waiting for someone else to rescue me. I can do that all by myself! I can find Cheddar and get us both out of here in one piece._

" _CHEDDAR!"_ he hissed a third time.

There was a shuffle from a patch of grass a short distance away and he recognized the patch of gray momentarily become visible before vanishing once more amongst the grass.

_He's alive!_

So that was a start at least. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get to the mouse and get them both away before the hawk spotted them.

Piece of cake.

Right.

" _Cheddar_ ," he said, forcing his voice into a whisper as he knelt against the dirt and held out his arms toward the frightened creature. "Here, boy. Come here. It's all right." Even as he spoke, he kept his eyes toward the sky, watching the hawk cautiously. "Come to me," he went on, forcing every bit of animal talent into his words. The mouse seemed to understand. "That's it," the tinker hissed, unable to hold back the breath of relief as the rodent started toward him. "You're almost there. Just a _little bit_ further."

_Where are Vidia and Clank?!_

They should have been back a long time ago, he realized. The scout outposts were just across the meadow. They could have flown halfway across the hollow by now! He felt the fear surge inside of him. What if the hawk had caught them? What if no one was coming to help? What _then_?

_I have to get us out of this mess_ , he decided, crouching down on one knee to coax the timid mouse the rest of the way. Cheddar was so close, just a small patch of grassless dirt to go, and--

As the mouse scrambled toward him, a furious scream could be heard from the air and he spun just as the hawk honed in on the mouse and dove, talons extended wide, victory in its soulless eyes.

"LOOK OUT!" Phineas bellowed, zipping forward before he could think and shoving the rodent forcibly out the way. Sharp claws raked his side and shoulders as the hawk beat its wings furiously, taking back to the sky, having missed its shot. Phineas hit the dirt, tumbling head over heels. He finally came a stop against a collection of boulders where he lay, stunned by the force of the impact and the pain erupting through his nerves.

Meanwhile, Cheddar dove for cover once again amongst the weeds. The hawk screamed, curling its wings and circling back for another pass, zeroing in on the tinker as he lay there, lights bursting before his eyes. It lunged, talons extended, ready to end him right then and there...

_"Bobble!_ "

A spear whistled past his ear, nearly impaling the hawk and sending the bird jerking away with a cry, glaring at the sparkling wings racing across the meadow toward him. Unconsciously, he let out a sigh of relief. They hadn't forgotten him after all! He was safe! They both were.

"Scouts!" the head fairy yelled, her voice carrying over the plains. "On me! You two," she added, barking toward Vidia and Clank who trailed close behind. "Get your friend and get out of here!"

Clank nodded and Vidia, surprisingly, didn't argue and together they zipped down to the stones.

"Guys..." Phineas groaned as they each took an arm and heaved him to his feet, catching him as he swayed unsteadily. "Ye... _came back_...thank... _thank_ ya."

"Yeah, don't thank us yet, Talentless," Vidia snapped, eyeing the sky as the scouts swerved and dove to avoid the hawk's sharp beak. "We aren't safe yet."

"Are you alright, buddy?" Clank asked worriedly. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He held up four.

"Four," Phineas replied instantly. "I'm fine. I just...got _startled_..."

" _Pulverized_ is more like it," Vidia snorted as Clank carefully began counting, getting tripped up twice. "How many times did that thing hit you? You're a wreck!"

"Just...just once," Phineas winced as she resecured her hold on his arm, practically dragging him and Clank after her. "But...ow...everythin' _hurts_...Cheddar..."

"The scouts got 'im," Clank assured him. "We'll get you to a healing talent right away!"

"No..." Phineas groaned, feeling fear flash through his mind. But, not his own. "There's...somethin's...somethin's wrong. Cheddar...he's...he's _scared_."

"Cheddar will be _fine_ ," Vidia grumped impatiently. "Focus on you or Fawn and the others are going to have my head for not 'looking after you' as they _so tactfully_ put it."

" _But..._ "

She cut off his protests with a dangerous glare. He swallowed hard and glanced away from her, fighting the onslaught of panic and agony from the mouse. He didn't understand how he was feeling Cheddar's emotions or how Animal Talents _dealt_ with it _constantly_. But he couldn't say anything more or risk exposing himself. And with Vidia hot on the case, he didn't want to give her the last piece of evidence she needed to convict him.

So he dutifully kept his mouth shut and let them take him to the healing talents who, after a quick observation, pronounced him just fine. A little roughed up, perhaps, but not any worse for the wear. 

Apparently, news traveled fast through the Hollow, especially when a hawk was involved, and he was met with the mob better known as the girls the moment he left. 

"What happened?" Silvermist asked, hurrying alongside him on foot. 

"Are you all right?" Rosetta inquired.

"Why is it you always get hurt as soon as we leave?" Iridessa demanded. Everyone glanced toward her and she shrugged. "What? _I'm just saying_..."

_Oh, Phineas_ , her mind sighed. _Why can't you be more careful? You've been injured more times than the lightning bugs have messed up their synchronization._

He winced, his gaze dropping to the earth as the other's minds echoed similar thoughts. Except for Vidia--who was thinking more vile thoughts, particularly pertaining what could have happened if the hawk _had_ gotten him and then forcibly pushing those images away, almost as if she were _trying_ to care and hating herself for it. And Clank--who's mind remained unusually silent. Phin _still_ didn't understand how he was blocking him but his fellow tinker wasn't letting anything slip past his perfectly-concerned expression. 

Phineas wondered how much of it was an act. 

"It wasn't Bobble's fault!" Clank tried to stand up for him. "It was the 'awks fault!"

The girls shared a concerned glance.

"Oh, we _know_ Phin wouldn't have done anything intentionally," Rosetta tried to amend. "But, it's just...how do we say this gently?"

"He's a walking disaster?" Vidia snorted.

"VIDIA!" Fawn snapped.

"Dearie, if you haven't noticed this by now, perhaps scotsman over there isn't the one who needs the glasses."

"I said _gently_ , Vidia!" Rosetta exclaimed, exasperated. "Look, sweetie," she added, seeing Phin's crestfallen expression. "We all love you. Even Vidia--"

"Ha," the fast-flyer snorted.

" _Even Vidia_ ," Rosetta repeated firmly. She fluttered down to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But, Phin, you have to admit, you are rather...accident-prone. I mean, just think about the thistles--"

"And the lightning bugs," Iridessa put in.

"And now the hawk," Rosetta finished. "The fact is, we don't know why these things are happening to you, but--"

_But we need you to be more careful. For the Hollow's sake._

So that's what they were trying to say. They were afraid that his "carelessness" was going to hurt the Hollow. And they weren't wrong to think that way. In the short time he'd been there, he'd already almost crushed half the meadow _and_ Rosetta with the Sprinting Thistles, nearly destroyed half a month's work in the workshop, and drove Cheddar right into mortal peril.

Vidia was right. He _was_ a walking disaster and it would be a mistake for him to stay around them and put them in any more danger than they were already in. He needed to protect them and it seemed there was only one way to do that. 

"I get it," he said flatly, shrugging off Rosetta's hand and pointedly shifting away from them. "I'm too clumsy. It's not safe for ya to be around me." His wings drooped and he trudged away toward the creek. 

" _Phin_ ," Silvermist breathed, fluttering after him. "Phin, we didn't mean it like _that!_ "

"Yeah!" Fawn added, catching up now too. "We want to spend time with you! We really _do!_ "

"But I only make things worse for everyone," he cried, walking faster, trying to escape. "Ya said it yourself! I create problems everywhere I go!"

"Okay, so _yes_ , you have flaws!" Iridessa said. "That just means your a fairy! _No one_ is _perfect_ , Phineas! Besides, you're a great tinker! One of the brightest I know! You just...haven't found your footing quite yet and that's all right! Everyone is different! You'll discover your strengths when you need them the most!"

_I already know my strengths,_ he thought grimly. _And they all involve lying, betrayal, and broken friendships all around._

"Just go," he said, his voice breaking like his heart. "Leave me alone. Ye don't want to be here. I know that. So _please.._."

"Phineas..." Fawn began again, reaching out to take his hand but hesitating at the last moment. _Maybe he just needs to be alone for a little while. He must still be in shock from the hawk._ "Come on, you guys," she said slowly, signaling for the others to follow. "Let's give him some space."

"All right..."

One by one, they began to fly away, leaving Phineas standing alone by the side of the stream.

Well...almost alone.

"Bobble?"

"What is it, Clank?" he sighed, not turning around but sensing the tinker standing anxiously behind him. "And my name's _Phineas_."

"You didn't...do those things they said _on purpose_ , did you?" 

" _No_!" he exclaimed. "Of _course_ I didn't! I didn't want anyone to get hurt! How could ya _even_ _consider_ I--" He spun around, stopping dead at the grin plastered across Clank's face. "What's so funny?"

"I don't understand why you're so upset," Clank admitted. "If you didn't do those things on purpose, then you have nothing to be ashamed of. At least, that's how I see it."

_But_ _you_ _don't know anything_ _about_ _me_ , Phin thought darkly. "Thank ye," he replied. "But it's not so simple." 

"Sure it is!" Clank argued, not seeing or ignoring Phineas's blatant scowl. "You made a mistake...or three! That doesn't mean you're any less caring! I've only been here for two days but _I_ can see the difference you make! The girls love you because you're _you_!"

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that--"

_"I_ am. Look, Bobble--"

" _Phineas_."

"--I know I'm not the smartest fairy here," Clank went on. "But I know they only want you to be safe."

"Aye, that they do." Phin kicked a pebble solemnly. But that wasn't the only reason. _They suspect there's more to the story, even if they don't know why._

"Soooo?" 

He sighed. "So, I don't know what ya are referren' to."

"Why are you afraid to be around them?" Clank asked. He didn't sound like he understood the impact of his words, but Phin couldn't help the wince that followed. "It's like you always dodge whenever they ask you something. Why?"

"No reason," Phin lied. "I'm don't...like fairies gettin' up in my face, that's all."

"But, they weren't up in your face..."

"I don't really want to talk about it, Clank," Phineas interrupted. 

"But mebbe if you just--"

"No," Phin answered abruptly. "Thanks, but no."

"All right," Clank sighed. "You don't 'ave to tell me but mebbe if you opened up a little, you wouldn't have to be so secretive."

"Sure," Phin repeated half-heartedly. 

He could tell Clank didn't believe him but his fellow tinker decided not to push any further. 

"I'm...going to go now," Clank said. "Catch up with Fawn. Helping her with the rabbits this afternoon. But if you ever wanna talk..." 

"Thank ya," Phin sighed. He waited until Clank had left before silently kneeling next to the water, watching as it gurgled and swirled contently past. 

_Maybe if you opened up a little..._

No, he couldn't do that. It was too dangerous. He'd worked too long and hard on his front to let it crumble at the slightest pressure. No one could know. Not like this. Opening up equaled them finding out the truth which would result in them hating him for the rest of his life. At one point, he wouldn't have cared. Now he did. He wanted to keep the friendships he'd made and he was willing to fight for them. 

No matter what, they could never found out the truth. 

And he would do whatever it took to keep that truth hidden.


	10. Time Passes and Everything Becomes Clearer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the epilogue of our tale! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!  
> The final part of the trilogy will be up shortly and it is entitled "Culmination" so, if you'd like to know how the story ends, I'd encourage you to check it out! :D

True to his word, Phineas never let on to his powers. For a time, he became increasingly reserved whenever the others were around and he did everything in his power to keep from messing up or putting them in mortal danger or anything else that would make him seem _anything_ besides ordinary.

It worked.

For almost a year, he kept up the charade. After a while, he befriended Clank and (to Fairy Mary's blatant relief) allowed the newest tinker to assist him with projects around the workshop. They became inseparable, the best of friends, and it became apparent to everyone in the hollow, where one went, the other was not far behind.

And while Phin enjoyed having a best friend, there were still things that bothered him. The first and least of these was his promise to the queen to practice with his powers. Now it seemed he had even _less_ time to do so than he'd had when everyone had ignored him. Not to mention Clank's serious inability to grasp the concept that his name was Phineas. _Phineas_ , not Bobble.

He gave up on _that_ endeavor, much to Vidia's amusement, after a week.

But all in all, he couldn't say things had been all that terrible. He'd finally found his group of friends and was happy with his work, blending in, only using his other talents when he deemed it absolutely necessary (like giving a baby bird a little extra nudge from a wind burst).

Perhaps everything was going exactly the way it should and maybe he would never have to worry about the others figuring it out. He was content. They were content. Everything was _perfect_.

Until that fateful night, a week before the Spring Ceremony, when _she_ arrived.

Tinkerbell, the brightest and _nosiest_ tinker the Hollow had ever seen. And _unlike him_ , she _actually_ had an aptitude for the talent.

Which, as he quickly discovered, was great for the Hollow, but _bad_ for him. While he was more than happy to take Tink under his wing and help with her...to put it mildly, _crazy endeavors..._ there were times when he feared she was getting too close to the truth. She _noticed_ things. Things that the others didn't. He could recount almost a _dozen_ times when he feared she'd caught him for sure but each time he'd gotten away unscathed. 

But there was no way of knowing how long that luck would last.

And it would not be long after her arrival that he would come closer to discovery than ever before.

And it was all the fault of that _dumb_ snow-making machine.

No, correction, it was mostly his fault and he knew it. He should never have allowed himself to feel what she felt, to let her emotions cloud his judgment. He'd been a mind-reader far too long for such an amateur mistake. But in the moment when she'd knocked on his door, he'd known he do _anything_ for her. And when she'd told him and Clank about her sister, well, he couldn't rightly say no, could he? 

But it was her desperation that really got to him. It had been so strong, he'd never seen her so sure of doing something forbidden, and he thought back to when he'd attempted to cross the border. She'd done what he hadn't been able to and she had discovered a whole new side of her, one not bound to be quenched at any point. 

So, he'd helped her. 

Perhaps it was the way she'd looked at him, a newfound respect and joy that he treasured, or how she seemed to light up as they worked, but in that moment, Phineas knew he'd fallen in love with her all over again. He would help her, not only because she wanted him to, but because, _yes_ , it was the right thing to do. 

But what had almost gotten him caught had come later, after they had rushed Periwinkle back to the border and both Queen Clarion and Lord Milori had appeared. He'd done his best to hide behind the machine and avoid the gaze of the Queen, whose mind was repeating the same disappointment over and over, mostly about Tinkerbell's inability to follow the rules and something about an old romance. Well, it didn't take a genius to guess who she was thinking of. After all, this wasn't the first time Phineas had heard Milori's name from her mind. 

_And she'd known he was there._

There was a brief moment when she glanced back to scold Tink and her eyes had paused on his hiding spot. 

_Phineas..._ she sighed. _What am I going to do with you?_

But then her gaze was drawn back to Milori and the scolding went on. 

Soon after that, everyone went home and the snow machine was left behind for Milori to dispose of. Phineas had made himself comfortable in the workshop, half-heartedly hammering at an acorn with no actual intent in mind. Tink had been summoned to the Pixie dust Tree to speak with Queen Clarion and the others had dispersed back to their everyday jobs. He was all alone. 

And then he'd felt it. 

A change in the atmosphere. Almost like...a shift in the balance.

He didn't know why he could sense it, or even what it was he was feeling, but he knew one thing for sure. _Something was wrong._

No one was around, so, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to hone in on the source of the disturbance. It didn't take long to find, hovering over the Autumn Woods. Something...cold...and out of place.

The snowmaker.

He opened his eyes and sprang to his feet, upsetting the acorn in the process. Something was wrong with the snowmaker and it was upsetting the seasons. He had to get to it and find a way to fix it!

"Bobble?" Clank, walking in at that moment with a stack of pots and pans, noticed his rapid action and frowned. "What's--"

"No time, Clanky," Phin replied, rushing past him. "Follow me! _Hurry_!"

"Um..." Clank quickly scanned the room to find a place to set his armload. "Er... _coming_!"

Together they flew across the Hollow. The closer they got to Winter, the stronger the disturbance. _It's definitely here_. 

And then he saw it. Stuck on the river, wedged between several large chunks of ice and tree roots. "Oh no..." he breathed, skidding to a halt. " _Clank_!" he snapped, taking charge quickly and effortlessly. "Find a big stick to use as leverage, _quick_!"

He hastily obeyed, disappearing into the trees.

Meanwhile, Phineas took a deep breath and flew down to assess the damage. The machine was firmly located where it could eat away at the shoreline, kicking a snowstorm toward the heavens, infecting the trees with ice. _If that thing continues to grow, it'll destroy the entire Hollow!_

Clank was still off in the trees, so, in desperation, he reached toward the sun, bending a beam of light toward the ice. _Melt!_ he begged silently _. Come on!_

The ice steamed and crackled but the light wasn't enough. There was no way he would be able to thaw the river enough to let the machine drop. 

"I got one!" Clank shouted, emerging from the shadows, heaving a branch four times his size behind him. Immediately, Phin dissipated his light-talent and zipped to help wedge the limb into place. 

"Okay, now _pull_!" he yelled.

Shortly after, the others arrived and together, they managed to dislodge the snowmaker and send it cascading to the depths of the river. With the help of the frost-fairies, Pixie Hollow was saved and everything went back to normal.

Well, as normal as life could ever be while being friends with Tinkerbell.

But one thing still remained. One thing that sent chills dancing his spine whenever he thought about that day. The thoughts of everyone who had arrived to help:

_How had he known about the machine?_

And although he claimed he'd felt a cold draft (and with the Nook in Spring, that wasn't far of a stretch), he was sure no one really believed that. So far no one had accused him of somehow causing the accident (although the possibility had circled Vidia's mind, along with the right solution, though she continuously shied away from it), but it was on everyone's minds almost twenty-four seven.

He didn't think he could stand it any longer.

So, three days after the border was opened, he made his decision. 

"I want ya to take back my talents."

He found the Queen walking through the Winter Woods, admiring the scenery. Milori wasn't with her, he noted, which made the moment perfect.

Surprise flashed through her eyes _and_ her mind. "Do you want to tell me why?" she asked gently, trying to hold back her worried thoughts.

"It's just..." he hesitated, hurrying to keep up with her. "After the incident with the...snowmaker...and...everythin', I...I don't want to hear what everyone is thinkin' _all_ the _time_."

"They suspect something?" 

"No," he replied instantly. "At least...I don't think so. I...actually don't know."

"So, what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm _tired_ , Queen Clarion. Tired of lyin'. Tired of pretendin' to be what I'm not. And...I'm just...ready for it to stop, ya know?"

"Phineas, I--" Clarion began.

" _Please_ , Queen Clarion!" he begged. "I...I want to be _normal._ I want to be like the others and what they think I am."

He could feel her hesitation grow. Her mind revolved back to Shade and the similarities between him and Phineas. Phin _still_ didn't know who Shade was, but that wasn't important. He wanted this. He _needed_ this. Surely the queen could see that!

"Phineas," the queen began again slowly. "I understand how you feel. You want to feel like you belong. I _know_. But the fact is, you are a Protector and I cannot simply take that away from you."

" _Can't_ or _won't_?" he grumbled bitterly. He should have held his tongue. He could see the surprise at his retort and he shamefully looked toward the ground.

"I understand you don't wish to remain the Protector," Queen Clarion went on as though she hadn't been interrupted. "But it is a duty not to be taken lightly. I know it may not seem it now but the fate of the Hollow may one day be in your hands. And in that moment, you will need and be grateful for every ounce of power you hold. "

"But, I--" he started to protest.

The queen sighed and laid a hand on his shoulder, stopping his plea. "Please trust me," she said. "Keep your powers. Use them when you need them the most or don't. It's up to you. Just _don't_ throw away your gift."

_Because someday, Shade is going to return and we're going to need you to protect us._

"Fine," he said slowly. "But can ya do one thin' for me first?" When she didn't reply, he went on. "Take away the mind-readin'. I'll keep the others but I don't think I can stand bein' able to hear fairy's thoughts any longer."

Clarion hesitated before responding. "Very well," she agreed. "I'll do _just that one_. But are you sure that's what you really want?"

"I'm sure," he replied without hesitation. 

The queen sighed and closed her eyes. A faint glow became visible around her body. It lasted only for a moment before fading completely and Phin felt an unexpected wave of ice pass through his veins--the feeling of a talent leaving him.

"It is done," Clarion spoke, her voice sounding tired. She opened her eyes and stared down sadly at him. 

He tried to read her mind, to be sure she was telling the truth. He could hear nothing. It had _worked_. "Thank ya," he breathed, feeling unusually relieved and empty at the same time. Was that what it felt like to have a talent ripped from within you? He was sure he _never_ wanted to feel that again.

"Bobble!" he heard Gliss call from over the ridge as she came sledding down the slope on her acorn. "Come on! Come join us!"

He glanced back longingly and then caught himself and looked toward Clarion who managed a small smile. "Go," she told him. "Spend time with your friends. They are precious. _Never_ take them for granted." 

"I won't," he replied, grinning. "Your Majesty." And with that, he turned and hurried through the snowbank to join the others, laughing as Vidia tried to stand and only ended up with a snowball to the back of the head.

Queen Clarion watched him go with a smile. But there was pain behind her eyes. Behind her, a faint wind blew. A wind of _change_. For she _too_ had felt something in change in the atmosphere..The time was drawing near. A great evil was stirring. 

And somewhere, hidden far away from the rest of Neverland, the spell broke...and a fairy _awoke._


End file.
